16/10/2026
🌊 +29% performance on floating PV with TALOS I
Floating solar brings unique O&M challenges: difficult access, changing water conditions and persistent soiling, especially from bird droppings. At the 5 MW floating PV plant at the Alqueva Reservoir in Portugal, the TALOS I project explored how robotics, AI and automation can help address these challenges
📢 But what exactly is TALOS?
TALOS is more than a cleaning robot. It is a coordinated autonomous O&M system that combines plant monitoring and algorithms with robotic cleaning. The system can detect underperformance and soiling, prioritise cleaning missions, verify operating conditions and supervise the cleaning process while keeping operators in control.
For the floating PV pilot, the SolarCleano F1AT was integrated with autonomous navigation, a dedicated rail system, continuous water supply, wireless charging and onboard safety technologies such as LiDAR and obstacle detection.
And the results demonstrate the potential of this approach:
☀️ 2,040 m² of panels cleaned per day
⏱️ 71% less time per cleaning task
📈 +28.7% performance-ratio gain across the TALOS floating-PV pilot
🌱 270 t of CO2/year avoided
The project also showed how more frequent robotic cleaning could reduce soiling losses and contribute to lower lifetime operating costs. Most importantly, TALOS demonstrates that scalable autonomy is not just about the robot itself, it requires charging, water supply, safety procedures, mission supervision and trained operators working together as one complete system.
A significant step toward smarter, safer and more efficient O&M for floating solar.
Big thank you to everyone involved in this big project for their amazing work! 👏
