5B is an Australian solar energy company with an innovative new idea. Instead of building a solar system onsite, make it in a factory using pre-assembled units that are hinged together and fold up like the sides of an accordion.
Truck it to where it’s needed and deploy it using just a backhoe and three workers.
The result is a solar installation that can be installed three times faster than a traditional ground mount system and produces up to twice as much electricity per unit of area as a traditional system.
Building the Maverick system in a factory means better quality control and lower prices, the company says.
Recently it was the recipient of a major investment by AES, the global energy company that specializes in grid scale battery storage installations like the 100 MWh system for Arizona Public Service.
AES, a co-founder of Fluence Energy, was a leading investor in a Series A funding round that closed at the end of July.
5B has successfully demonstrated the power of Maverick solution in the Australian market and now AES is bringing its strength and anticipates adding 2 to 3 GW of solar power annually and will utilize 5B’s Maverick systems in many of those upcoming projects, including one in Panama that will include a 2 MW Maverick system from 5B.
Another Maverick system will be deployed in Chile as a part of an expansion of the 10 MW Los Andes solar facility in the Atacama Desert. A project using 5B’s technology can be built in a third of the time when compared with conventional solar.
Reference- PV Magazine, 5B Maverick System website, Clean Technica