SkySpecs Raises $80 Million in Strategic Capital Raise
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
The funding of $80 million obtained by the Michigan-based provider of renewable energy O&M solutions will help the company meet demand for renewable energy asset management solutions.
In fact, the company‘s mission is to make renewable energy the most efficient power source in the world. To this purpose, the company seeks to speed the expansion of their software services by using their existing foundation of automated high quality data collection and analytics. Another point is aiming to grow its geographic footprint in order to optimize renewable performance and help displace fossil fuel generation.
The capital raise was led by the Sustainable Investing business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management (Goldman Sachs) with additional participation from a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources and other existing SkySpecs investors including, Statkraft Ventures, Equinor Ventures, Evergy Ventures, UL Ventures and Huron River Ventures.
“Renewable energy is becoming a viable, attractive, and profitable energy source. In order to scale fast enough to meet the demand, the market needs experts and solutions to help them navigate the complexities of managing their assets. We help customers get the most out of the life of their assets by identifying solutions to their most complex problems”, said Danny Ellis, CEO, SkySpecs. “That’s why we’ve developed a solution set that enables companies to manage and optimize their assets from the planning phase right through the full asset lifecycle, including predicting future failures, and prioritizing repairs in order to optimize their maintenance budgets.”
“There is a growing need amongst renewable asset owners to improve asset efficiency and better manage asset health, which is not being sufficiently addressed today and is further exacerbated by aging fleets and increasing complexity of portfolios” said Vikas Agrawal, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “SkySpecs has a leading market position providing high ROI preventative maintenance and software solutions to the world’s largest renewable asset owners, along with extensive data and know-how. We’re excited to invest in SkySpecs’ vision to accelerate the expansion of capabilities that will increase the performance and longevity of renewable resources, reduce operating costs, and simplify asset ownership.”
SkySpecs entered the market offering to the customers solutions to understand the health of their assets based on data available in near-real-time from the first day of operation to end-of-life. This service allows better-informed decision-making about the customers’ fleets in the context of predicting failures, prioritizing repairs, and extending asset useful life. For example, SkySpecs provided wind farms with valuable data for the best use of their wind turbine blades through autonomous drone inspections. The company also provided access to high-quality data on all of the components that make up the wind asset which played a very important role in reaching long-term efficiency.
“It’s a pivotal time for the future of renewable energy”, added Ellis. “The industry is constantly changing, and companies need to be equipped to grow with it. Effective asset management, and the data to achieve it, is key for future success.”
SkySpecs oversees 118 gigawatts of renewable energy assets in over 30 countries. The business monitors around 45 percent of all wind turbine blades in North America, inspecting more than 300,000 blades. SkySpecs has over 200 employees worldwide, including robotics engineers, financial advisers, and data analysts, as well as graphic designers, resource managers, drone pilots, and product developers.
Source : GlobeNewswire
