A Q&A with James of Paces
In the last decade, solar deployment has witnessed a massive (25%+) year over year growth across residential and commercial sectors. Amidst this growing momentum, time is of the essence as project developers look to deploy more systems, and move ahead in the interconnection queue.
The pace of solar siting and permitting new industrial solar installations is one of the biggest friction points in the behind the meter movement. Finding suitable land that doesn’t conflict with agricultural, residential, or conservation uses is difficult, requiring thorough assessment, regulatory compliance, and lengthy reviews. Additionally, complex local, state, and federal regulations can cause regular delays - impacting the soft costs and economic viability critical for developers.
Paces AI is a software platform that helps solar developers globally optimize their site selection and permitting process, saving customers time and money as they work to deploy large scale commercial asset deployment. The Shared Future Fund supported the Paces AI team in their pre-seed round, and were excited to sit down with Founder and CEO, James McWalter, after their recent Series A fundraise to chat more about the pace of commercial solar, and how their tools are really enabling the industry.
What is the current pace of industrial and commercial solar deployment? What is holding it back, and where do you think it will be in 10 years?
The pace of industrial and commercial solar deployment has been remarkable, consistently outpacing every previous year’s estimates over the last decade. This trend shows no signs of slowing down, and solar deployment is on track to continue exceeding expectations.
However, significant constraints need to be addressed to sustain and accelerate this growth. The two major obstacles are grid interconnection and permitting, and these are the primary reasons why 80% of large-scale solar projects fail to be built. Overcoming these challenges are essential for the continued expansion of solar energy.
Looking ahead to the next 10 years, with the right advancements and solutions, we can overcome these barriers and see an even more accelerated pace of deployment. The future holds immense potential for solar energy to become a dominant power source, driving us closer to our clean energy goals.
What is the role of AI in accelerating the deployment of solar?
AI plays a crucial role in addressing the challenges of grid interconnection and permitting, which involve dealing with complex, disaggregated, and unstructured textual data, such as local ordinances and interconnection studies. AI can process and make sense of this data, providing developers with the insights they need to make informed decisions and get more projects built.
Permitting data, in particular, is highly dynamic. Due to abrupt regulatory shifts, the legal right to use land for renewables can change almost overnight. These changes can render land unusable, causing costly project delays or even cancellations. The longer it takes to assess regulatory hurdles and navigate the multi-layer, unstandardized permitting process, the more expensive and riskier the project becomes. AI can help developers quickly adapt to these changes, ensuring they have the most up-to-date information to mitigate risks and avoid potential pitfalls.
Moreover, as highlighted by the White House Executive Order on AI, AI for permitting represents a significant opportunity to maximize solar deployment and fully utilize the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act. By leveraging AI, we can streamline these processes, reduce bottlenecks, and accelerate the pace at which solar projects are developed and brought online.
What do you plan to achieve with this new round of funding?
We’re incredibly excited about what this new funding means for Paces future and our work on accelerating clean energy infrastructure. With the $11 million from our Series A, we’re set to expand our innovative software platform significantly. One of our main focuses will be enhancing our Permitting Predictor, making it available across the entire United States, and boosting its data intelligence capabilities.
Our goal is to provide developers with the most comprehensive and detailed tools to help them scrutinize and mitigate risks more efficiently and effectively. This means expanding our capabilities to cover more of the due diligence process and branching out to new sectors like EV charging and data centers. By broadening our scope and enhancing our platform, we’re taking a significant step towards maximizing the climate benefits of every piece of land. This Series A funding will fuel our growth and impact, allowing us to support the entire clean energy infrastructure ecosystem even more robustly.