Ultra-low cost “earth mount” solar innovator lines up first 100MW-plus PV project

The US start-up behind innovative and low cost “earth mount” solar technology has lined up its first large-scale PV project and announced a further 14MW of smaller projects under contract.

Arizona-based Erthos, which was founded in 2019, said on Wednesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a 107MW project with a yet-to-be-disclosed US developer.

The company, as its name suggests, makes a number of patented modifications to PV module frames to allow them to be installed flat on the ground.

This approach, Erthos says, dramatically reduces the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of utility-scale solar by requiring significantly less land, labour and materials.

Big solar with a smaller footprint

The result, the company claims, costs less than 50c (US) per watt to install, while taking half the time and using one-third of the land compared to regular solar farm installations.

Erthos has also developed an autonomous cleaning robot that sweeps dust from the array, nightly, and collects module-level health data.

The concept has caught the attention of some big name cleantech investors, including Capricorn Investment Group’s Technology Impact Fund, known for backing companies like Tesla.

The fund led a $US17.5 million Series B financing round in March, more than double the $7.4 million raised in 2019 at around the time of Erthos’ launch.

Pushing down costs and addressing NIMBYism

Erthos CEO Jim Tyler says the 107MW solar project the company has agreed to develop has very high interconnection costs and so needed to find savings elsewhere.

“Erthos offers a clear advantage here because it has two to three times the energy density of a tracker or fixed-tilt system,” Tyler says.

“This makes it ideal for projects with high fixed costs.”

For the 14MW of contracted projects – which Erthos says spans agreements with five of the top US and global big solar developers – the smaller footprint and low profile of the Earth Mount Solar has also been a key selling point.

“Erthos technology allows us to build projects in specific locations that present challenges in terms of land availability and visibility,” says Stefano Ratti, CEO of Chaberton Energy.

“We’re excited to collaborate with the Erthos team, and we look forward to the opportunity to deploy this technology at more locations.”

Another of the contractors, Path Company, has agreed to use Earth Mount Solar for a community college project in Mississippi.

“With Erthos, we are getting a solution adapted to our specific site and project, provided by some of the most experienced professionals in the business,” says Russ Phillips, Co-Founder of Path Company.

Community renewables outfit, Encore Renewable Energy, has also signed an MOU with Erthos for what is described as “a noteworthy project” in its portfolio.

“As a forward-looking company, our team is always looking to improve the value of our projects with innovative technology,” says CEO Chad Farrell.

“Erthos is answering that call for a project of ours, significantly improving project economics with its novel earth-mounted approach.”