Local opposition to solar energy comes in many forms, from neighbors who live near proposed large-scale installations, to organized groups and municipal boards who pass legislation banning utility scale projects. For the developer, opposition equals risk and risk reduces the bankability of projects.
Learnewable is a startup that offers developers an AI-based tool that provides risk assessments based on insights into local opposition to siting solar, battery energy storage, wind and even data centers. The company recently launched an interactive county-level map that uses those insights to show solar developers the social landscape before they begin the process of due diligence for a project.
The way it works is Learnewable gleans information on local sentiment, permitting, zoning, restriction and moratoria from public records, local news and social media. It then applies multiple AI tools to normalize and cross-validate, resulting in a score on a five-point scale on sentiment and permitting ease/risk.
When using the map, developers can zoom in with the company’s “Site Scout” on specific locations to gather far more information. For example, Site Scout offers not only public sentiment in the specific location, but also provides details on regulatory factors, names and contact information of key stakeholders and tools to continue monitoring evolving narratives for potential new risk signals.
After analyzing a location, the platform offers a feasibility assessment that runs from “very unfavorable” to “very favorable,” followed by a narrative of what that assessment is based on.
Jeremy Solomon, president and founder of Learnewable, told pv magazine USA that while AI gets a bad rap for providing false information, the company has found that by using multiple AI models it has learned how to minimize false information.
In addition to the web scraper and web tracker tools that continually monitor social media including Facebook and Nextdoor, Site Scout also has an audio and video tool that developers can use to download the text of city council, planning board or other meetings that are posted to YouTube. Called “Audio Insight,” the tool identifies stakeholders and summarizes their point of view. A proprietary algorithm, developed with a psychologist and after interviewing over 100 developers about their needs, then categorizes the stakeholders according to their potential influence.
Solomon referred to the algorithm as “the secret sauce,” which he said sets Site Scout apart. “Other offerings map sentiment, but we identify stakeholders,” he concluded.
Site Scout covers more than 3,000 counties in the U.S., providing color-coded maps and prioritized locations, as shown above. Solomon noted that by using these tools, the developer doesn’t need to hire a consultant, and the user owns the data that’s generated.
Learnewable was founded in 2023 by Solomon to develop an intuitive, AI-driven platform designed to simplify and accelerate the site selection process. The company initially focused on solar permitting but has added wind and battery storage as it continues to refine the platform.
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