Illinois Solar Farm Deploys Robots, Terrain-Following Trackers to Cut Labor Hours
Solar Power World reports that the 346-MW Gibson City Solar Project in Illinois has reached commercial operation using robotic module installation and terrain-following trackers, a combination developer Earthrise Energy and EPC contractor Burns & McDonnell say cut grading needs and construction labor.
Market Impact
The project connects to the grid through the existing switchyard of an adjacent gas-fired peaking facility rather than requiring a new interconnection, an approach Earthrise Energy calls its “surplus interconnection strategy.” Jami Stone, construction project manager for Burns & McDonnell, said interconnection delays have become “one of the defining challenges for new energy projects” and called Gibson City an example of rethinking traditional construction approaches to meet growing power demand.
Spanning roughly 1,700 acres in McLean and Ford counties, the site is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 46,000 homes. Burns & McDonnell handled full EPC services, while its construction subsidiary AZCO self-performed underground electrical work, pile driving, and tracker and module installation using union labor under the National Maintenance Agreement. Nextpower supplied terrain-following trackers, Shoals provided the aboveground collection system, and SMA supplied inverters. Burns & McDonnell also designed and commissioned the site’s SCADA systems to manage both the solar array and the adjacent gas plant.
The most notable field innovation: Burns & McDonnell deployed AI-driven robotics from Gritt to install a portion of the solar modules, using machines attached to standard construction equipment to lift and place panels instead of relying solely on manual crews. Separately, Nextpower’s terrain-following trackers let the array follow the site’s natural contours, limiting grading to fewer than 40,000 cubic yards across the entire footprint, a reduction of as much as 90% compared with conventional utility-scale solar construction.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Module installation crews should expect EPCs to pilot robotic lifting equipment like Gritt’s system on future utility-scale jobs; subs bidding labor-heavy installation packages may need to show they can integrate or compete with automated lifting to win work.
- Civil and grading subcontractors on solar projects should prepare for smaller earthwork scopes as terrain-following tracker designs spread. On this 1,700-acre site, grading was held under 40,000 cubic yards, far below conventional builds, meaning fewer excavation and reseeding hours per acre.
- Electrical subs pursuing similar work should note AZCO self-performed underground electrical systems and pile driving here, a sign owners may favor EPCs with in-house self-perform capability over subcontracted scopes on comparable projects.
- Union labor contractors in Illinois and neighboring states should track that this project ran under the National Maintenance Agreement, a model worth referencing when bidding future Burns & McDonnell or AZCO-led solar builds in the region.
- Subs specializing in native seeding or erosion control should note Burns & McDonnell established a native seed mix and started growth before mobilization, an approach that shifts landscaping work earlier in the project timeline rather than as a closeout task.
