Automated cleaning and cooling infrastructure for utility-scale solar farms.
One boom per field
ML-driven control
Cleans + cools
The System
One intelligent boom cleans and cools an entire field
A GPS-positioned spray boom (center-pivot, linear, or overhead rail) travels the array on motorized wheels, fed by constant-pressure pumps from multi-fluid vessels.
Sense
Camera, weather station, panel temperature, live power output
Decide
An ML controller predicts whether cleaning or cooling pays, before spending water or energy
Act
Spray nozzles clean; the same hardware sprays to cool overheating panels
Field view · center-pivot boom
Rotating spray boom
Panel arcs
Central pivot + supply mast
How It Works · The Proprietary Core
It prices every cleaning, before it spends a drop
Five live inputs feed the patent’s cleaning-cycle effect prediction model. It scores each candidate regime (energy recovered vs. water and energy spent) and the boom moves only when a regime wins. Rain coming? It holds, and the sky cleans for free.
The decision loop · from the filing · Figs. 11–12 & ¶0020
Cooling
Active cooling recovers hot-day output and extends panel life
The system watches panel temperature and starts spraying before panels overheat, protecting today's output and the asset itself.
Panel temperature · one summer day · published research
Uncooled
With spray cooling
≈$1M/yr
Saved by cooling alone on a typical 100 MW farm: recovered output plus deferred panel replacement*
+29%
Output recovered by spray cooling in published research, arid climate: modules dropped 58.6 → 36.7 °C
~2×
Panel lifetime for every 10 °C cooler operation (Arrhenius aging law)
*Assumptions: 100 MW farm on ~450 acres · ~180,000 × 550 W panels (~400 panels/acre) · 25% capacity factor → 219 GWh/yr · $35/MWh PPA · panels lose 0.4%/°C above 25 °C; cooling recovers ~8% of annual output in hot climates ≈ $0.6M/yr · modules at $0.30/W with lifetime extended 25 → 35 years defer ≈ $0.35M/yr in replacement capex · total ≈ $0.95M/yr per farm.
Sources: Sandia National Laboratories, PVPMC · Applied Thermal Engineering, 2026 arid-environment trial · Arrhenius reliability model
Cleaning
Smart cleaning recovers 10–30% of production in high-soiling sites
The controller detects dirt and dust per zone and cleans only when the predicted power gain beats the water and energy cost.
Field view · one smart cleaning pass
Soiled: losing 10–30%+ (US farmland: up to 11.5% in one month)
Cleaned: output restored
Boom cleans zone by zone, only when it pays
+25–49%
Higher cleaning profitability, condition-based vs. fixed schedules: exactly the decision logic our controller runs
01Detect: camera spots soiling, zone by zone
02Predict: power gain vs. water + energy cost
03Clean: only when it pays
Sources: IEA-PVPS Task 13, 2022 & 2025 · Ilse et al., Joule, 2019 · Solar Energy 290, 2025
Security
The cameras that watch for dirt also watch for people
The patent already puts a camera over every row so the controller can judge soiling. Turned outward, that same network becomes always-on site security, and most solar farms sit unmanned, unlit and unwatched.
Perimeter view · boom-mounted cameras
01 · DETECT
Computer vision tells a person or vehicle from a coyote or blowing debris, so the alarm means something.
02 · IDENTIFY
Faces are matched against your authorized-crew list. A scheduled technician passes; an unknown face escalates.
03 · WARN
The boom responds on the spot: strobe, siren and a spoken warning. Most intrusions end right here.
04 · ALERT
The clip, timestamp and GPS location go straight to the owner, the security contractor and law enforcement.
No new hardware. The cameras, power, GPS and network are already on the boom. Security is a third job for a machine the site has already bought.
Proprietary Technology
The patent-pending core: one machine that cleans and cools any field
01 · Traveling spray boom
One boom on motorized wheels or rails covers an entire field. No robot per row.
02 · GPS positioning
Reference-coordinate memory plus live GPS give meter-level repeatability and automatic zero-point return.
03 · Three configurations
Center-pivot, linear, or overhead rail: fits any site, installs in hours.
04 · Cleans and cools
Multi-fluid spray nozzles clean; temperature-triggered spray cools: two ROI streams, one machine.
Three patent-pending configurations
Center-pivot (radial)
Boom pivots around a central mast over a circular field.
Linear ground-wheel
Traveling boom on driven wheels between rows.
Gantry / overhead rail
Rail-mounted carriage travels above the panels.
One or more installations will be required per site, depending on factors such as configuration and terrain.
Plus AI & ML
The software learns each site and acts only when the predicted gain pays, improving with every install.
Competitive Position
One boom replaces a robot on every row
Approach
Hardware footprint
Capability
Per-row robots
One robot per table, plus bridges between trackers
Dry cleaning only, no cooling
Fixed spray plumbing
Pipes and nozzles at every panel
High install cost and maintenance
Manual wet crews
Labor, trucks, and heavy water use
Weeks per field, fixed intervals
ISS traveling boom
One boom services the whole field, installs in hours
Cleans and cools, condition-based
Robotic cleaning already covers 5,000+ MW across 35+ large-scale sites (Ecoppia, 2026). The budget line exists. Source: Ecoppia company data
Competitive Vision
Three trends, one smarter approach
The technology seeks to combine three increasingly important trends in renewable energy operations:
01
Automation of labor-intensive maintenance activities
02
Data-driven operational decision making
03
Artificial intelligence optimization of asset performance
By integrating cleaning hardware with sensor-driven analytics and machine-learning models, the invention aims to create a smarter approach to maintaining solar energy production across large installations.
Market
The installed solar base doubles by 2030
2,392 GW
Solar PV installed worldwide, end of 2025
The largest source in the global renewable fleet
3.8×
Utility-scale growth by 2030: 917 to 3,467 GW
Large fields, one traveling boom: our exact segment
$33B
Solar O&M spend by 2034, up from $14.5B today
The O&M budget automated cleaning addresses
Potential markets
Utility-scale solar farms
Commercial rooftop solar installations
Industrial renewable energy facilities
Solar developers and EPC contractors
Independent power producers
Solar asset management companies
As global solar capacity continues to expand, automated maintenance technologies may play an increasingly important role in maximizing energy production and reducing operating expenses.
Sources: IRENA 2026 · IEA Renewables 2024 · Precedence Research 2025
Development Status
Where the technology stands today
Important disclosure
This technology currently exists as patent-pending intellectual property and design concepts described in the patent application. No physical prototype has been constructed, tested, or commercially deployed to date. Performance expectations and commercial benefits are based on the concepts and embodiments disclosed in the patent application and have not yet been validated through field trials.
Licensing & Acquisition Opportunities
The portfolio is open for the right partner
Actively exploring opportunities with
Solar industry participants
Equipment manufacturers
Automation companies
Renewable energy investors
Strategic acquirers
The owner would consider
Exclusive or non-exclusive licenses
Joint development arrangements
Strategic partnerships
Asset acquisition transactions
Outright purchase of the patent portfolio
Organizations interested in evaluating the technology, discussing commercialization pathways, or negotiating licensing or acquisition opportunities are invited to make inquiry.