April 30, 2026
SiteCaptureAI for solar energy is a AI-powered field reporting and quality control tool developed by SiteCapture. The product is designed to automate construction site documentation, quality control and reporting workflows for all solar activities. The platform enables research into solar locations, installations, TPO financing, O&M and more. Kamal Shah, founder and CEO of SiteCapture, joined The pitch to discuss the company’s latest tool for the solar industry and the impact of AI on the solar industry as a whole.
Key quotes
How will AI impact the solar energy sector?
Shah: I would think about that in two ways. There’s the external, macro impact that AI has, and then there’s what’s happening internally in the industry when it comes to AI and solar energy. From an external perspective, we all know that AI is growing rapidly and consuming enormous amounts of electricity, increasing prices and demand. And the most efficient way to meet that demand is solar energy. So in terms of the impact it has on the industry as a whole, that’s what it does. Speaking internally within the industry, AI can really be used to reduce just the overall cost of solar sales, installation and maintenance. But I think today we are only at the beginning. There is a lot of talk in the sector about the soft costs of solar energy. One of the best ways we can reduce the cost of solar is to reduce the soft costs, and I think that’s where AI can really make an impact. Soft costs are basically all the manual steps and all the manual processing, all the work that’s done, the costs outside of the equipment and hardware.
I think AI can have a huge impact in reducing that.
How can SiteCaptureAI for Solar help companies meet TPO financing requirements?
Shah: TPO means ‘third party owned’ which means there is a third party that installs, owns, maintains and rents the system to the customers. The advantage for customers is that they receive a fixed price, a price that is significantly lower than what they spend on their current energy bill. In addition, the TPO company is responsible for maintaining the system and keeping it running optimally. It’s a model that has been around for a while… but [with the passing of OBBBA]Once it becomes a more common model for solar, it will likely account for two-thirds of installations this year. For installers, it’s actually very different because… the systems have to be third-party owned, so the owners really need very specific documentation and have these very specific quality control requirements at different milestones of the project. That’s where SiteCapture comes in to make it really easy to get the right documentation, make sure it’s captured the first time, avoid those extra truck rolls and then also let SiteCaptureAI make sure all that documentation is complete, accurate and in line with funding requirements.
What is the future of AI in solar energy?
Shah: I think we’re going to see AI increasingly embedded into every step of the lifecycle and really find a way to make it more proactive, real-time guidance and really deeply embedded into the workflows that they’re doing today. It will do things like automate reporting and it will automate QC processes along the way. I think it will make photos and videos even more of a primary mechanism for documenting and reporting, where all the structured information can be extracted from the photos and video, making it easier for field teams to not have to click tons of buttons and enter a lot of information manually. The photos and the videos will capture most of it. That will go a long way. I think the other part of it, when it comes to O&M, is really providing predictive insights into the installations that exist today. Identify errors before they happen. Be able to identify things that are ready to be refurbished or identify new equipment that needs to be installed. Towards a fully supported workflow with human oversight around these cumbersome, manual processes.
Timestamps
- 0:58 Impact of AI in solar energy
- 3:14 Improving efficiency in the aftermath of OBBB
- 5:21 Overview of SiteCaptureAI for solar energy
- 8:16 Using AI to comply with TPO financing
- 11:47 The future of AI in solar energy development
- 13:20 Ensuring that AI tools are smart enough for solar energy
- 12:21 The next AI innovation for solar energy
Watch the video at YouTube.
Keywords: artificial intelligence, automation, SiteCapture, TPO financing
