- The investment in solar Innovator 5B enables deployment of solar 3x faster and with twice the energy from the same land
- AES would benefit from the use of 5B’s MAVERICK technology across many of the projects in its expected 2 to 3 GW of annual renewables growth
- Together, AES and 5B will help clients accelerate their use of solar energy
According to a report, AES Corporation has made a strategic investment of around USD 8.6 million in 5B, a solar technology innovator based in Sydney. 5B’s revolutionary MAVERICK design benefits customers to add solar resources at a pace which is three times faster while providing up to two times more energy within the constant footprint of traditional solar facilities. The partnership would help clients accelerate their use of solar energy.
The MAVERICK design allows companies to make a transition more quickly while using less land. This design is a pre-wired, prefabricate solar solution which is folded up, shipped to the site and rolled out. The 5B approach makes it easier in engineering, procurement and construction for ground-mounted solar facilities. It also helps in removing common barriers for organisations to deploy solar resources, including the availability of land and ground penetration , thus making it possible in more places while providing the flexibility to easily relocate the resources in some applications.
Andres Gluski, President and CEO of AES said “Solar is the most abundant clean energy source in the world, and 5B’s innovative design provides twice the energy for any given area”. He also added that a project which used 5B’s technology could be built in a third of the time when compared with conventional solar. These denotable advantages would help meet the growing needs of the customers in today’s ever changing environment.
Vision for a clean energy future
According to the report, AES plans to benefit from the use of 5B’s MAVERICK technology across many of the projects in its expected 2 to 3 GW of annual renewables growth. AES Panama would fats track the delivery of a 2 MW project utilising the MAVERICk solution. In Chile, AES Gener will deploy 10 MV of Maverick technology as a part of the expansion of its Los Angles solar in the Atacama Desert in the north.
Chris McGrath, 5B’s Co-founder and CEO shared that 5B has delivered the speed and efficiency benefits of our Maverick Solution in the Australian market. Now AES is bringing its strength to bear as we scale our solution globally. He also added “AES shares our vision for a clean energy future. Our Maverick solution is defining the next generation for solar power and the true potential of solar power in terms of how fast, simple, flexible and low cost it should and will be.”
The firm has also announced that it has, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, AES Brasil, agreed to acquire an 18.5 percent economic interest in AES Tiete from BNDES Participacoes. Once the transaction closes, AES will own 42.85 percent of the shares of the Brazilian renewable energy firm which has 3.7 GW of renewable generation in operation or under construction, consisting of 2.7 GW of hydro, 708 MW of wind and 310 MW of solar.
