SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio-based company says it is changing the way solar and energy facilities conduct vegetation management.
Renu Robotics developed a robotic mower that can be found in solar farms across the United States, including airports and Air Force bases.
“We provided a map, and it knows where to go. But it has information in it all the time and sensors if there’s a safety issue, if there’s holes, if there’s equipment around. It uses Lidar (light detection and ranging) and cameras to determine that,” said Renu Robotics CEO Tim Matus.
Matus said the mowers are meeting demands of a national solar boom.
“The demand is huge. Today we see about a million acres under solar panels, and with a few years we will see six billion acres. So, the need to have people mow under these panels is huge. A lot of interest. Large energy companies. Lots of demand for it,” Matus said.
The U.S. Solar Energy Industries Association reports over 5% of U.S. electricity comes from solar energy.
“It takes people out of area that are dangerous, hot, wet,” Matus said.
The company is not slowing down. Renu Robotics has grown to more than 65 employees in the past five years.
“We’ve won about six and a half million in grant money, so far, around some of the technology. It all has to do with autonomous operations, software, and even using hydrogen to fuel our robots,” Matus said.