AES sends world’s first AI-powered solar robot fleet to California project

Amercian utility AES has announced the deployment of the world’s first fleet of AI-enabled solar robots to support the second phase of the massive Bellefield project in Kern County, California, US.

Maximo, which made its debut in July 2024, is purpose-built for utility-scale solar construction and installed modules at the first phase of Bellefield last year. Once completed, the 1GW of solar + up to 1GW of storage on the Bellefield site will make it one of the largest solar-plus-storage projects in the world.

It has an offtake agreement with Amazon.

This fleet of Maximo robots is designed to work alongside crews to accelerate installation while improving safety, reliability, and consistency in the field. The robots leverage AES’s proprietary data set to adapt to real-world site conditions and are capable of supporting multiple tracker and module manufacturers.

“Maximo is helping EPCs deliver on time and accelerating AES’s solar backlog,” said Chris Shelton, SVP and chief product officer at AES. “With proven success at Bellefield 1 and 2, this is just the beginning of Maximo driving faster, more reliable solar execution with our partners.”

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Maximo can already lay claim to installing more than 35MW of solar modules. Once the machines are finished at Bellefield, AES is eyeing deployments across New York, Virginia, and Texas.

Utility-scale solar panels often weigh 60 pounds (27kg) or more, and installers have to bend and lift large loads hundreds of times over the course of a single job. Having a machine handle the heavy lifting makes solar installation a more accessible career path and lightens the physical toll on human bodies. AES says Maximo can install solar panels in half the time and at half the cost.

Maximo will not take any human jobs, AES insists, noting its staffing on job sites has not changed since Maximo joined the workforce.

“The goal here is to supercharge the workforce that delivers clean energy,” Shelton explained when Maximo made its debut. “We are not focused on eliminating or replacing people in this equation. It’s actually just the opposite- we want to bring more people into this workforce.”

“As we start to evolve this, we open up the door to different workers. It’s not necessarily that heavy, strenuous job now, it’s more about controlling the unit,” added Ron Rodrique, vice president of project management at AES.

Maximo can perform in a broad range of climates and lighting conditions and has been validated in the field across a variety of US project sites. Deise Yumi Asami, head of renewable technology and innovation at AES, says Maximo can manage the complete installation of solar panels and learns with every installation and each module it handles.

“Maximo is like equipment,” she explained. “A tool for our construction workforce that helps them be more productive and to keep systems going the entire time we’re on site.”

Maximo’s AI-powered features include: 

• AI-powered computer vision: Aims to ensure precise panel placement.
• Continuous learning: Adapting for optimal performance and driving efficiency improvements. 
• Image reconstruction: Proprietary generative AI pipeline that reconstructs images obscured by glare or related lighting conditions.  

Previously, Maximo helped power Amazon operations at the Oak Ridge Solar project in Louisiana, its first utility-scale deployment. In 2025, AES says Maximo supported projects with a leading EPC, integrated seamlessly with union labor in California, while expanding technology partnerships nationwide.

Originally published by Paul Gerke on Factor This