Story thread · 3 reports / 3 sources

This startup just raised $32 million to build solar farms using robots—and much less land

fastcompany.com · 6h · first reportShare

Solar farms have a land problem. When a new project was planned in a St. Louis suburb, the county zoning board rejected the design, arguing that it took up too much space and sat too close to a neighboring subdivision. The developer then turned to a startup called Planted to rethink the plan using a digital twin and robots. The result: The project used 40% less land to produce the same amount of power, allowing it to move forward. At a time when energy demand is surging, but solar projects often face roadblocks and long delays, Planted has a new way to speed up deployment. The company announced today that it has raised $31.8 million to scale up, with Piva Capital and RA Capital Management Planetary Health leading the round and participation from Google , Breakthrough Energy Ventures , Gigascale Capital , and Khosla Ventures . “I started out months ago trying to answer a very simple question, which is, if solar panels are so cheap, why is utility-grade solar so expensive to install?” sa