UL Acquires Solar Analytics Company Clear Sky Analytics
Leading safety science company UL announced the acquisition of solar analytics company Clear Sky Analytics, in a deal aiming to expands UL’s solar offerings and the overall depth of its solar and wind renewables expertise.
Clear Sky Analytics specializes in distilling and interpreting operating PV solar plant data to improve performance by providing actionable insights. The company’s proprietary software platform analyzes solar asset performance and provides prescriptive insights, integrating data quality management, performance modeling and analysis algorithms to generate a comprehensive and quantitative accounting of energy produced and energy lost to specific causes. Clear Sky was founded by solar industry veterans Ajay Saproo and John Corson, who will join UL.
The acquisition comes as global investments in renewable energy have seen sharp growth, with a recent IEA report indicating a 45% increase in renewables capacity additions during 2020. Earlier this week, the IEA indicated that renewable energy investments would need to surge to nearly $5 trillion by 2030 – with solar at the forefront – in order to put the world on the pathway to net zero emissions by 2050.
Jennifer Scanlon, President and CEO of UL, said:
“We are delighted that Clear Sky Analytics platform is now part of UL and will help create a safer, more secure and sustainable world. With solar power as an emission-free, reliable source of energy, increasing and optimizing its supply enables communities globally to replace carbon-intensive energy sources and significantly reduce global warming emissions. The Clear Sky acquisition furthers how UL is applying human, brand and financial capital to help our customers deliver positive actions that benefit our planet, its people and the prosperity of future generations.”
UL is one of the world’s top advisors on the development, evaluation and optimization of renewable energy projects. According to the company, the acquisition will complement its existing comprehensive portfolio of independent technical advisory, testing, inspection, certification and software services to the solar energy industry.
Jason Fischer, President, Enterprise and Advisory at UL, said:
“Enabling our customers to plan, finance, build, operate and manage solar energy projects is key to the overall transition from our fossil fuel energy present to a renewables intensive future. Clear Sky Analytics’ cutting-edge prescriptive insight in the fast-growing solar market is the ideal complement to UL’s advisory, certification and testing services.”
Clear Sky Analytics founder and CEO Ajay Saproo added:
“We are thrilled to be part of the UL family to help customers globally mitigate risk and optimize returns from their solar projects. Having previously partnered with UL on various projects, we are confident that our combined capabilities will create value for our customers and drive technological advances in navigating the complexities of managing solar plants over the project lifecycle.”