As wind energy gains ground in the U.S., SkySpecs is using drones and AI to detect future equipment failures before they grind those giant turbine blades to a halt.
The company, which works with wind farms to monitor the health of turbine blades from above, has locked down a fresh $80 million Series D round led by Goldman Sachs to expand its “geographic footprint” and software tools.
SkySpecs builds its hardware and software in house, and already claims to monitor the health of close to half of all turbine blades in North America (for reference, there are 71,666 turbines in the U.S. alone). Since it launched in 2012, the firm says its drones have inspected more than 300,000 blades across dozens of countries. SkySpecs’ larger goal is to “help displace fossil fuel generation” by making renewables more efficient, per a statement from the firm.
Read the full article in TechCrunch.