PVcase, a solar project design software provider, announced it had secured a joint investment of $100 million, bringing the company’s total funding to over $123 million. Highland Europe, Energize, and existing investor Elephant participated in the round.
The funding will help PVcase accelerate its product development, expand its global presence, and integrate its platform with other solutions.
“Data risk is a technical problem that has become an industry-wide constraint,” said PVcase CEO David Trainavicius. “We plan to use this investment to drive more cost and time savings by offering a one-stop solar design platform.”
PVcase was founded in 2017; the company offers cloud-based software that automates and optimizes the solar design process, from site selection and layout to energy production and financial analysis. The company says its software can reduce design time by up to 90%, increase energy yield by up to 15%, and lower costs by up to 20%.
The company said it aims to solve the “data risk” in the solar industry. Data risk refers to the discrepancy between the data used for designing solar projects and the actual site conditions and performance, which can lead to significant energy production, revenue, and profitability losses.
“The utility-scale solar industry is poised for explosive global growth in the coming years, yet it currently lacks the digital tools needed to meet the demand of the market,” said John Tough, managing partner of Energize Ventures and now a member of the PVcase board of directors.
To address this issue, PVcase recently acquired Anderson Optimization, a U.S.-based company that provides solar siting and interconnection software. The acquisition enables PVcase to offer a comprehensive solution that covers every step in the design and operations process in a single platform.
The two platforms’ data fields have been matched, enabling transfer with a few mouse clicks. PVcase also introduced Anderson Optimization software to the European market, first covering Germany, Spain, and the U.K.
According to Mercom’s recently released 1H and Q2 2023 Solar Funding and M&A Report, In 1H 2023, global VC funding activity rose 3% YoY, with $3.8 billion in 33 deals compared to $3.7 billion in 53 deals in the first half of 2022.
