Awardee Name: PowerScout
Project Title: PowerScout.com, The First Big Data Enabled eCommerce Platform for Clean Energy
Funding Opportunity: SunShot Technology to Market (Incubator 10)
SunShot Subprogram: Technology to Market
Location:  Pleasanton, CA
Amount Awarded: $1,500,000
Awardee Cost Share:  $1,500,000
Project Investigator: Attila Toth

PowerScout.com is a data-driven eCommerce platform for clean energy. PowerScout’s platform leverages state-of-the-art cloud computing and big data analytics to present customers with customized clean energy solutions that combine solar photovoltaics, electric vehicle charging, electric storage and energy-efficient appliances. Customers can use PowerScout to evaluate, acquire, and finance energy technologies for their home while providing full price transparency and enabling customers to compare offers and savings from a curated list of high-quality service providers. By trading costly door-to-door sales for a streamlined online buying experience, PowerScout decreases customer acquisition costs and the levelized cost of energy. 

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At PowerScout.com, customers can purchase a solar system online.

APPROACH

Solar technology is becoming increasingly affordable, but sales and marketing costs remain exceptionally high. PowerScout’s platform uses intelligent technology to compress customer acquisition costs. The platform allows customers to explore a full suite of clean energy solutions by entering their address. The platform then estimates the customer’s energy needs and highlights potential impacts to the customer’s spending, environmental footprint and home value. Customers can then complete their transaction online and are connected to financing partners and installers. 

INNOVATION

PowerScout brings cutting edge technology in cloud computing, big data analytics, machine learning, and eCommerce to the solar energy industry. The platform integrates more than 25 data sources with over 1,000 variables on each residential dwelling into its Big Data Analytics Engine. PowerScout uses cognitive computing technologies for propensity modeling and market segmentation. PowerScout leverages digital marketing automation to reach the highest value customers with micro-targeted offers. PowerScout drastically simplifies the transaction and customer credit underwriting with a modern eCommerce platform, the first-of-its-kind in the solar industry.