Startup Erthos says its “earth-mount” approach can reduce utility-scale solar costs by up to 20% by eliminating steel racking.
It’s a radical innovation that challenges a basic architectural tenet of utility-scale solar — and the $3 billion business of trackers and racking. By eliminating what it sees as “a tremendous amount of unnecessary materials and risks,” Erthos claims it can build a solar power plant in half the time on one-third of the land, all while using 70 percent less cable and trenching.
Erthos contends that its design requires “only light civil engineering,” with a system that can be used in different topographies with little need to grade, making it simpler to install than other systems.
Industrial Sun said that land constraints would have prevented the new project’s site from being developed with conventional solar technologies, which typically require five to 10 acres of land per megawatt of capacity. Erthos claims that its mounting scheme requires less than 2.5 acres per megawatt.
Erthos is bringing installation costs down by eliminating racking, which in the U.S. currently accounts for about $0.15 per watt for a 100-megawatt system, according to a recent report from the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables.
Ion Yadigaroglu of Capricorn Investment Group, which led Erthos’ financing round earlier this year, told Canary Media in March that he believes the company can lower large-scale solar installation costs by 20 percent by eliminating steel racking with its new structural approach.
A cost reduction of 20 percent in a mature industrial commodity market like solar is unheard of. If the Erthos approach is viable and financeable, it could be the step change the solar industry needs to maintain its torrid growth and continue replacing fossil fuel generation.
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