EU Energy Projects Podcast: Project TALOS - automating solar power with robotics

This episode of the EU Energy Projects Podcast delves into how the TALOS Project is developing cutting-edge robotics and artificial intelligence to automate operations and maintenance tasks in photovoltaic plants.

The crucial role of solar power in the energy transition requires no introduction, but the ever-increasing scale of solar PV operations has thrown up a range of challenges.

These large-scale solar energy installations, often located in remote areas, face challenges like finding skilled labour and ensuring worker safety.

In Greek mythology, Talos, was a giant automaton made of bronze to protect Crete from pirates and invaders. He circled the island's shores three times daily. Talos seems like an appropriate name for the robots being developed to protect the PV panels.

Ross Hastie spoke to Senior Project Manager Daniel Albuquerque in Lisbon to find out more.

We'll hear about the unique challenges of different environments in the TALOS pilots in Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, including dealing with bird droppings on floating solar panels.

Find out more:
Site visit: TALOS at Europe’s biggest solar-hydro hybrid plant
About EU-funded energy projects
How innovation is driving the energy revolution at EDP

Daniel explains how TALOS is tackling these issues by creating robots for three distinct PV scenarios: land-based, floating, and agrivoltaic.

Daniel will also share insights into agrivoltaics, a new approach that combines solar energy production with agriculture and new underwater robots for inspecting floating solar installations.

Stay tuned for a fascinating conversation about the future of solar power and the robots that will help us harness it!