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Launch HN: Charge Robotics (YC S21) - Robots that build solar farms

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Re: Launch HN: Charge Robotics (YC S21) - Robots that build solar farms

#41

Post by beachy »

dmead wrote: post #32

Should we do this? My understanding is that solar installation is the next (semi?) skilled labor that could potentially be careers for many people. It doesn't seem to be the most socially stable thing to cut out humans from this job market before it really booms.

I would imagine this works best for large scale projects that are on nice flat land?

So plenty of room for humans to handle smaller/trickier projects. And of course to look after the machines that are doing the work.

Turning a blind eye to climate friendly tech for fear of losing (potential) future jobs doesn't seem wise, and it's irrelevant anyway in our capitalist society where someone else will just follow the money and step straight into your place.

Re: Launch HN: Charge Robotics (YC S21) - Robots that build solar farms

#43

Post by farmin »

beachy wrote: post #42

This is the most appealing Launch HN I've ever seen.

I agree. I read the title and immediately thought the pitch would make sense. Such repetitive nature like automation in farming. There will be edge cases though and they will be hard just like in farming.

Re: Launch HN: Charge Robotics (YC S21) - Robots that build solar farms

#45

Post by boringg »

hutzlibu wrote: post #31
mrraj wrote: post #27

Interesting idea - having worked in the back office of a solar construction company for a number of years I can see a few challenges. Install labor is relatively cheap but more importantly flexible - relative to the cost of the project install is low double digits %. If a job isn't running smoothly you cut your temps and move your main crew over to another site or send them home if they're local. I would wonder how t…

"Also keep in mind Central CA in summer is not Massachusetts in November, weather makes all this 10x worse" Important to keep in mind, but I would suspect(and hope), most solar farms will be installed, where it is sunny and dry.

Nah solar installations work across all weather categories. You just have to manage adverse weather (i.e. additional costs). Some climates have better solar production others have higher costs of energy which solar can undermine.

Re: Launch HN: Charge Robotics (YC S21) - Robots that build solar farms

#47

Post by mrraj »

banks_h wrote: post #33
mrraj wrote: post #27

Interesting idea - having worked in the back office of a solar construction company for a number of years I can see a few challenges. Install labor is relatively cheap but more importantly flexible - relative to the cost of the project install is low double digits %. If a job isn't running smoothly you cut your temps and move your main crew over to another site or send them home if they're local. I would wonder how t…

Definitely, we've experienced workers being sent home for a number of reasons (too cold, too windy, too rainy, materials didn't show up as scheduled). Fortunately with an autonomous system there's no logistical overhead, if some external factor prevents us from working then we aren't stuck covering hundreds of per diems and sending everyone home. Yes, we'll have some equipment depreciation as it's not working, but it…

“Fortunately with an autonomous system there's no logistical overhead”

It might be too early to tell.

Those telehandlers and skidsteers are almost always rentals, so they get called off and picked up at the site. Moving heavy machinery is much more difficult than moving people, and all of your equipment is unique so it’s glued to that job site until it’s complete. Owning your own equipment presents its own set of challenges - you have to store it when it isn’t being utilized, keep excess capacity in case it becomes unavailable, fix/repair on your own, etc. All of the costs in the current installer model, while perhaps higher, are tightly coupled with the cash flows from the job portfolio. This might decouple the cash going out from the cash coming in, to say nothing of the fixed costs of having having hardware/software engineers on staff.

I really want this to succeed so please keep in mind this is just food for thought.

Re: Launch HN: Charge Robotics (YC S21) - Robots that build solar farms

#49

Post by flgb »

nightski wrote: post #48

This sounds awesome and it’s great that Solar is so cheap. But if it’s only available several hours in the day at best is it really that practical? Or am I just misinformed and we have grid scale storage already?

Tracking solar systems can deliver 5-hours of generation. Solar and wind is for super cheap bulk energy. Solar is delivering the cheapest energy in history. Then we use a portfolio of other resources for balancing - grid interconnections; short and long-duration storage including pumped hydro; load flex; and bio-fuel, electro-fuel, and natural gas generators very occasionally.

Re: Launch HN: Charge Robotics (YC S21) - Robots that build solar farms

#50

Post by justicz »

nightski wrote: post #48

This sounds awesome and it’s great that Solar is so cheap. But if it’s only available several hours in the day at best is it really that practical? Or am I just misinformed and we have grid scale storage already?

Your intuition is right that storage is important for renewables -- fortunately grid scale batteries exist and are increasingly popular! At the end of 2020, 34% of solar projects under development were being co-located with battery storage in the US. [1]

If you're curious, Bloomberg has a nice summary [2] where they talk about how much more battery storage the world will need in a future that relies heavily on renewables (it's a lot -- see page 4 specifically).

[1] https://eta-publications.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/2021.04... [2] https://assets.bbhub.io/professional/sites/24/NEO-Executive-...

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