Maximo Robots Break Solar Installation Records in Southern California

A Maximo robot just reached a significant milestone by completing the installation of 100 megawatts of solar power.

According to Electrek, this represents one of the “largest real-world demonstrations” for Maximo robots. Arriving at 100 megawatts is more than just a technical milestone — it is also a sign that robots are becoming more capable of handling complex tasks requiring significant precision, speed, and accuracy.

At this level, automation is no longer fully experimental. It has moved beyond highly controlled environments and small tests to real-world tests with human crews in places like the AES Bellefield solar complex, which, when completed, is expected to be one of the US’s largest solar facilities.

Built for a single purpose, backed by industry giants

Maximo robots are built specifically to handle daunting tasks like solar installations. Developed by AES Corporation in partnership with AWS, these robots have played an instrumental role at solar farms, including the Bellefield solar complex.

Although still under construction, Electrek reports that after half of the complex was done, with the aid of Maximo robots, engineers developed version 3.0, Maximo’s most powerful version to date. 

The upgrade delivered a significant boost in efficiency, translating into higher productivity. While a single construction worker can install up to 24 solar panel modules per hour, these upgraded robots reached rates going up to one panel module per minute. At this pace, they were able to outperform installation rates seen at similar solar sites across Southern California. As a result, the 100-megawatt mark was achieved sooner than normally expected.

Chris Shelton, Maximo’s president, was quoted by Electrek as saying:

“Reaching 100 MW is an important milestone for Maximo and for the role robotics can play in solar construction… It demonstrates that field robotics can move beyond experimentation and deliver consistent results at utility scale. As solar deployment continues to accelerate globally, technologies that improve installation speed, quality and reliability will become increasingly important.”

How Nvidia technology powers Maximo’s AI stack

Electrek also notes that Maximo’s system incorporates some Nvidia technologies in its version 3.0, which may influence how the platform is perceived by potential investors. These include:

• NVIDIA AI infrastructure: These are Nvidia’s hardware and software used to process and train AI models at scale.
• NVIDIA Omniverse components: Libraries, SDKs, and microservices for constructing virtual environments that mirror real-world settings.
• NVIDIA Isaac Sim: A robotics simulation environment used to test performance before real-world deployment.

As AES’s partner in the development of Maximo robots, Amazon reportedly contributed via its Amazon Web Services infrastructure. It reportedly adds support for the development, deployment, and operation of the robot’s field systems, as well as scalable computing and advanced data processing, enabling Maximo to collect the robot’s data for improvements.

Meanwhile, China’s AgiBot is scaling up humanoid robots at an unprecedented pace, hitting 10,000 units as the industry shifts toward real-world deployment.