FTC Solar publishes white paper on automation-ready construction

FTC Solar (FTCI) released a new white paper, “Fast, Easy, Safe, and Robot-Ready: How 1P Pioneer supports customers with simplified engineering, minimal hardware, and seamless robotic optimization.” The paper addresses the central challenge facing utility-scale solar: deployment must accelerate faster than industry capacity can expand. With U.S. decarbonization goals requiring annual build rates to rise sharply – roughly approaching double recent levels – labor shortages, especially in skilled installation roles, are a leading constraint. The paper explains how the bottleneck has shifted from cost to execution and can be solved by simplified tracker design, reduced labor intensity, and greater integration of automation. “Construction automation is the only way to scale solar and meet the growing demands of the industry,” said James Emerick, Co-Founder & CEO, Cosmic Robotics. “It starts with tracker designs like FTC’s Pioneer that enable both robotic and human crews to work faster, safer, and with greater throughput. The Pioneer tracker is thoughtfully engineered for automation-features like the slide-and-glide module interface and the separation of rail and module installation steps make it an ideal platform for high-speed robotic installation and the next generation of solar construction.”