Glint Solar, a Norwegian startup specializing in solar developer software, has successfully raised $8 million in a Series A funding round led by Smedvig Ventures. The round also saw participation from Momentum, Futurum Ventures, Antler's Nordic fund, and the later-stage fund Elevate.
Glint Solar's platform is designed to help solar developers evaluate potential project sites efficiently. By integrating adaptable layout designs, yield estimates, and country-specific GIS data with topographic analysis, the platform provides teams with comprehensive oversight and control over essential project data, including 3D-rendered layouts.
The software is already used by a range of companies globally, including major players like Recurrent Energy, Statkraft, and E.ON, and has seen strong adoption across more than 35 countries. This follows the success of Glint Solar's $3 million Seed round in 2022, which helped expand its customer base and further develop its platform.
Harald Olderheim, CEO and Co-founder of Glint Solar, emphasized the urgency of speeding up solar energy adoption: “To counteract the effects of climate change, renewable energy needs to be adopted at a faster pace. The UN IPCC report says that 70-85% of the world's electricity must come from renewable sources by 2050 to avoid the worst impacts of a warming planet. Luckily, utility-scale solar is quickly becoming the most cost-efficient form of energy one can build.”
Olderheim added that the challenge lies not only in the cost-efficiency of solar but also in accelerating development timelines. “The remaining factor is to also make solar energy development time-efficient. Software is at the heart of the solution, and this investment allows us to continue to push the boundaries of making complex, fragmented data and insights easily accessible, directly impacting the speed of global solar adoption.”
Founded in 2020, Glint Solar was created to address the slow pace of solar project development. Studies show that 73% of solar development companies' time is spent on projects that never make it to the permitting stage. The company's platform aims to make the permitting process smarter, easier, and faster, ultimately reducing the barriers to project completion.
