MasTec (MTZ) Brings Gritt Construction Robots to Its Utility-Scale Solar Sites
MasTec, one of North America’s largest infrastructure contractors, will deploy Gritt’s AI-driven robotic systems across MasTec Renewables solar projects. The two companies announced the partnership on November 10. They also plan to look at other infrastructure work later.
It’s Gritt’s second named construction partner in under three months. Burns & McDonnell signed up in August after a year of field testing.
What the robots actually do
Gritt doesn’t build its own machines. It bolts robotic arms and sensors onto equipment crews already use, like skid steers and forklifts, and runs them with its own AI. The first job is the heavy, repetitive one. The robot unloads large glass solar modules, carries them to the racking and places them precisely so workers can fasten them.
Each module weighs around 80 pounds. On a utility-scale site, crews lift thousands of them a day. That’s where injuries and fatigue pile up, and it’s the labor that’s hardest to hire for.
The robots don’t run unsupervised. Craft workers guide and check the work. The machines also log what was installed, material movement and site conditions, which gives supervisors a running picture of progress.
MasTec tested the systems by installing “megawatts” of panels on live sites before signing. Rob Turner, vice president of construction at MasTec Renewables, said the company sees a chance to pair its crews with technology that supports them in the field.
Why contractors care now
US developers planned to add about 43.4 GW of utility-scale solar in 2026, roughly 60% more than in 2025, according to the Energy Information Administration. The work has to be done by crews that are already stretched, often on remote sites. A robot that takes over module handling won’t replace the crew. It could let the same crew build faster.
Gritt came out of stealth in July with about $32 million in funding. It says its machines have installed more than 35,000 panels so far, about 18 MW, with 2.8 GW of solar construction under contract. At Burns & McDonnell’s 346 MW Gibson City project in Illinois, Gritt machines placed part of the modules.
Those are still small numbers against MasTec’s renewables pipeline. The useful signal is that two large EPC firms have now moved from trials to named deployments. The next thing to watch is whether Gritt adds fastening and racking, which it says are on the roadmap.