Originally posted on Business Wire. Additional coverage on Axios, PV Tech, Reinsurance News, and Coverager.
Lacuna Sustainable Investments leads Series B round to accelerate kWh Analytics’ growth and build on its leadership in developing insurance solutions that prevent climate change.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (FEBRUARY 8, 2022) - kWh Analytics, the leader in Climate Insurance, announced today that it raised $20 million to continue the organization’s expansion.
The capital raise reflects the increasing focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues, particularly within the insurance industry. While many insurance companies are addressing ESG by divesting from fossil fuels, kWh Analytics has taken a proactive approach by developing data-driven insurance specifically for zero-carbon assets.
“The most recent 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report was clear: it’s a ‘code red’ for humanity,” stated Richard Matsui, CEO of kWh Analytics. “The world needs more renewable energy to mitigate climate change, and insurance is key to ensuring these projects get built. This new category of “Climate Insurance” is a massive, once-in-a-generation market opportunity; kWh Analytics is proud to be a market leader in this space.”
Matthias Weber, the former Chief Underwriting Officer of Swiss Re, noted, “kWh Analytics has filled a critical gap in renewable energy insurance, using an innovative, data-first approach. This fundraise underscores their position as the leader in this space.”
As the custodian of the world’s largest database of renewable energy asset performance, kWh Analytics has emerged as the leading provider of Climate Insurance by leveraging its real-world data to power its underwriting. This innovative model has been widely successful: the company’s first product, the Solar Revenue Put, now protects over $3 billion of solar power plants, while delivering a best-in-class loss ratio. Now, kWh Analytics is proud to announce the launch of its highly anticipated Property Product, which provides all-risk coverage against physical damage for solar, storage, and wind projects. Learn more at https://www.kwhanalytics.com/property.
“As an investor in renewable energy power plants, we understand firsthand the challenges that investors face in procuring cost competitive insurance,” said Brad Bauer, Partner at Lacuna Sustainable Investments. “On top of that, today’s standard insurance offerings miss important nuances specific to renewable energy equipment, like the impact of microcracks and hotspots on performance. That’s what makes this fundraise and product launch so important -- not only is kWh Analytics supplying more insurance, but they are innovating on the existing products by using their proprietary data.”
With the new funding, kWh Analytics plans to develop additional solutions to support solar, wind, and storage asset owners and investors. The company will also bring these solutions to new international markets. These new offerings will continue to revolutionize underwriting and pricing within the renewable energy insurance space by leveraging real-world data. Notably, this investment follows ongoing collaboration with leading global re/insurers, including Swiss Re.
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About kWh Analytics
kWh Analytics is the leading provider of Climate Insurance by using our proprietary database of renewable energy project performance of over 300,000 operating assets -- the world's largest database -- to underwrite insurance policies for renewable energy, backed by the world’s most trusted insurers. To-date, we have insured over $3 billion of American solar power plants with our first insurance product, the Solar Revenue Put. kWh Analytics is funded by venture capital and the US Department of Energy. To learn more, please visit www.kwhanalytics.com, connect with us on LinkedIn, or follow @kWhAnalytics on Twitter.