Planno: AI-powered prospecting platform helping solar enterprises identify opportunities faster and at scale

In today’s market, massive solar enterprises are helping to accelerate the transition to renewable energy.

However, they are also costly initiatives that take years to build and even longer to deliver an ROI. 

Here, innovative tech solutions are helping to bridge the gap between large-scale projects and immediate ways to harness solar power at scale. 

Planno is an AI-powered prospecting software platform that helps solar companies to identify and pre-qualify commercial and industrial rooftop opportunities faster, easier, and at scale.

Solar companies lose a significant amount of time trying to identify the right opportunities. Planno solves this by combining geospatial AI with third-party market insights, turning months of manual research into hours of actionable intelligence.

This not only helps solar companies to build lean business models and grow their pipeline faster, but also drives the transition to renewable energy. 

Although the UAE, where Planno is based, has emerged as a regional leader in renewable energy adoption, opportunities for commercial solar rooftop adoption are still plentiful. 

According to data from Planno, 94% of the 15,000 rooftops across Dubai are yet to adopt solar. Here, mid-range buildings offer solid economies of scale.

However, detailed insights like these aren’t limited to solar companies in the Middle East. Planno is also working across key markets in Europe, Africa and the United States, with plans to increase its footprint further to become the leading global AI platform for solar.

From the Middle East to Portugal and beyond 

Although based in Dubai, Planno’s founder and CEO, Daniel Domingues, originally hails from Portugal, and is a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit found across the country.

With thriving tech hubs in Lisbon and Porto, Portugal boasts an increasingly fierce startup ecosystem. More specifically, the country is building an edge in cleantech, as seen by the numerous startups dedicated to energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste management, and sustainable transportation solutions. 

This is supported by Portugal’s progressive stance on renewable energy compared to other countries in Europe, which aims to achieve 80% of its electricity sector consumption through renewables by 2030.

A deep connection to Portugal can be seen through the business expansion of Planno. After huge success in the Middle East, Domingues made a largely personal decision to bring the technology to his native country of Portugal before expanding to US markets.  

Here, he found a thriving business landscape with thousands of companies from the North to the South of the country open to the adoption of alternative energy. Further, Planno data found that commercial rooftop adoption remains at 15%, highlighting a massive opportunity for solar developers ready to scale in Portugal.

He explains, “When it comes to solar, Portugal may be small in scale, but it is big in speed and competitiveness. It is a market where the true value of transition energy translates into stable and continued adoption, without relying on disproportionate subsidies.” 

The final point offers important food for thought. When the transition to renewable energy is very reliant on public funding, it makes the initiatives vulnerable. If these subsidies dry up or are stopped for political reasons, all the progress goes back to square one. 

Instead, countries like Portugal show an inspiring example of transition led from the bottom up, as companies realize that stable economic growth is linked to building a renewable future and reducing reliance on fossil fuels without delay. 

By making Planno technology available in Portugal, Domingues is helping to accelerate progress towards a solar-driven future for the country. 

Further, Planno is also making inroads into larger markets including the United States. 

For instance, the company now maps out more than 64,000 commercial and industrial rooftops with solar potential of 11 GW in New York City alone, in addition to its work in Austin and other markets. The solar market in the U.S. alone had a value of $70.3 billion in 2024.

How Planno is spearheading GeoAI innovation in order to drive impact  

The ongoing AI revolution promises to drive transformative change across industries, yet most of the narrative at present is focused on GenAI-based solutions. 

GeoAI refers to the integration of artificial intelligence with geospatial data and is an emerging area of innovation with largely untapped potential. 

By combining these technologies, GeoAI can automate analysis, enhance predictive capabilities, and provide deeper, context-aware insights from location-based information. 

In turn, it paves the way for numerous real-world applications of AI that can solve real-world challenges at scale, in an affordable manner. In fact, by 2027 the geospatial analytics AI market is projected to reach $172 million.

For instance, GeoAI leverages deep learning and machine learning to process vast datasets from sources like satellite imagery and sensor networks to support faster and more accurate pattern detection to support solutions in urban planning, environmental management, and disaster response. 

Following its work in solar, Planno has plans to expand into adjacent markets, including agriculture, weather centers and more.

Planno’s AI-powered solar solution offers a blueprint for the future, showcasing the impact of GeoAI solutions.