ImpactAlpha, February 8 — Wind and solar farms tend to be decentralized, making it difficult and expensive to inspect them. Wind turbines, for example, require preventive maintenance checkups at least twice a year. Drone inspection is cheaper, costing $300 to $500 per turbine, or less than one-quarter the cost of manual inspections.
Santa Monica-based Zeitview has raised $55 million to inspect global wind and solar energy assets.
The company changed its name from DroneBase to Zeitview, or “time view” in German, to reflect its use of crewed aircrafts, smartphones and advanced software, in addition to drones. The company says its solution is faster, more accurate and lower-cost than others in the market. “Our customers need immediate and accurate analysis about the health of their assets,” said Zeitview’s Dan Burton.
Expanding footprint
Zeitview claims to have inspected nearly one-third of installed solar assets in the U.S. and has customers in more than 70 countries. Valor Equity Partners led the Series E round, which brings Zeitview’s total raised to $114 million. It joined existing investors Union Square Ventures, Euclidean Capital, Energy Transition, Upfront Ventures and Hearst Ventures.
