Solar developer software, Glint Solar, has raised an $8M Series A funding round led by Smedvig Ventures with participation from Momentum, Futurum Ventures and Antler’s Nordic fund and later stage fund, Elevate. 

Glint Solar’s platform allows solar developers the tools to evaluate project sites for potential development. The platform blends adaptable layout designs and yield estimates with country-specific GIS data and topographic analysis.

Its hub gives teams full oversight and control over essential project data such as 3D-rendered project layouts.Its software is used by small to large solar developers and energy companies in more than 35 countries globally, including Recurrent Energy, Statkraft and E.ON, following its $3M Seed round in 2022.

Harald Olderheim, CEO and Co-founder of Glint Solar, said: “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 – in Texas, for example, it has overtaken coal as the most important energy source. 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 by Harald Olderheim, Even Kvelland and John Modin, the Norwegian startup recognised that while solar is one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways of curbing the climate crisis, projects move too slowly. With 73% of solar development companies’ time spent on projects that don’t make it to the permitting stage, there is an urgent need for better tools and insights on solar development. Glint Solar overcomes this by making the permitting stages easier, smarter and faster. 

Glint Solar has experienced rapid growth since its $3 million Seed round in 2022, with its customer base more than tripling in the last 12 months. The software is used by small to large solar developers and energy companies in more than 35 countries globally, including Recurrent Energy, Statkraft and E.ON. 

This latest investment will be used to expand into new markets and to improve the overall product offering, serving both existing and new solar developers. To support this, the company will grow its sales and product development teams, aiming to more than double its current headcount of 30 over the next 12 months. Looking ahead to 2025, the company will continue to drive disruption among solar developments with best-in-class insights and tools to ‘get it right from the beginning’. The product will grow into a wider platform to solve key challenges for developers, including a battery energy storage systems (BESS) feature to help project developers identify where to develop energy storage units.