Operators researching an AlsoEnergy PowerTrack alternative are often asking a narrower question than it first appears. PowerTrack is an established solar and storage monitoring platform. ClearSpot is an AI and drone automation layer for solar O&M. The two do different jobs, and many utility-scale portfolios get the most value from running them together rather than swapping one for the other.
This page compares what each product is built for, where they overlap, and how to decide what your 50 MW to 1 GW portfolio actually needs.
In short: ClearSpot is an AI and drone automation platform for utility-scale solar O&M. It combines autonomous drone inspection, AI fault detection and existing monitoring data to produce prioritised work orders and automated reports. It is designed to sit alongside monitoring and data acquisition platforms such as PowerTrack, not to replace them.
Quick comparison: PowerTrack and ClearSpot
| Area | AlsoEnergy PowerTrack (Stem) | ClearSpot |
|---|---|---|
| Product category | Monitoring, data acquisition (DAS) and controls platform for solar and storage | AI + drone O&M automation layer |
| Primary data source | Site equipment via data loggers and connected hardware | Drone thermal and RGB imagery plus existing monitoring and SCADA feeds |
| Core output | Live performance data, alarms, controls, reporting and ticketing | Detected faults ranked by impact, work orders and automated reports |
| Field inspection | Not described on the PowerTrack product pages we reviewed; confirm with Stem | Autonomous drone inspection with AI fault detection |
| Typical buyer question | How do I see and control what my sites are doing? | Which problems should my crews fix first, and why? |
| Relationship | Monitoring system of record | Works on top of the monitoring you already run |
PowerTrack descriptions are based on Stem’s public product pages, linked below, as of October 2026. Confirm current features with Stem before making a decision.
What is AlsoEnergy PowerTrack?
PowerTrack is AlsoEnergy’s monitoring software. AlsoEnergy has been part of Stem since 2022, and Stem presents PowerTrack on its PowerTrack product page. Stem describes PowerTrack Software as an application for commissioning, monitoring, optimising and controlling clean energy assets, and says it can take in data from third-party hardware.
On the hardware side, Stem offers the PowerTrack Logger, a data acquisition (DAS) gateway that connects on-site equipment to the PowerTrack software. In practice, this places PowerTrack in the monitoring and DAS category: it collects plant data, displays it, raises alarms and produces performance reports for owners and operators.
For many asset owners, that monitoring layer is essential infrastructure. It is the system of record for production, availability and equipment status.
What is ClearSpot?
ClearSpot is an automated solar operations platform for utility-scale O&M. It does not try to be another monitoring portal. Instead, it focuses on the work that happens after an alarm or an inspection: finding the root cause, ranking it by impact and turning it into a job a technician can act on.
- Autonomous drone solar inspection with thermal and RGB imagery
- AI fault detection, with 99% fault detection
- Correlation of inspection findings with monitoring and SCADA data
- Prioritised work orders, including linking SCADA anomalies to work orders automatically
- Automated performance and inspection reporting
ClearSpot customers target 30–50% O&M cost reduction, 65% downtime reduction and 97%+ availability across their portfolios.
Where the two products differ
Data collection vs data action
A monitoring platform answers what is happening at the plant. ClearSpot answers what to do about it. PowerTrack-style monitoring tells you an inverter is down or a block is underperforming. ClearSpot adds the inspection evidence, estimates the impact and creates the work order.
Continuous telemetry vs physical inspection
Some losses never show up clearly in electrical data: cracked modules, hotspots, soiling patterns or vegetation shading. Drone inspection finds these at module level. Monitoring data, in turn, catches events between inspections. Each covers gaps in the other.
System of record vs automation layer
ClearSpot reads from the monitoring you already run. It is not a SCADA or DAS replacement, and it does not require new on-site data hardware. If you are evaluating solar O&M software more broadly, treat monitoring and O&M automation as separate line items.
Using PowerTrack and ClearSpot together
For most utility-scale portfolios, the practical answer is to keep PowerTrack as the monitoring layer and add ClearSpot on top. A typical workflow looks like this:
- PowerTrack collects plant data and raises an underperformance alarm.
- ClearSpot reads that signal alongside recent drone inspection results.
- AI fault detection identifies the likely cause, such as a string of damaged modules.
- ClearSpot ranks the issue against other open faults and creates a work order.
- After the repair, monitoring data confirms that production has recovered, and the result flows into the automated report.
This keeps your existing monitoring investment, avoids re-training operators on a new portal, and adds drone inspection and AI-based fault prioritisation on top.
Case study: 90% less time on reporting
A 100 MW solar portfolio in India used ClearSpot to combine drone and AI inspection data with its monitoring feeds and generate reports automatically. The operator cut reporting and analysis time by 90%, freeing engineers to work on the issues the reports surfaced instead of assembling them.
Pricing
ClearSpot pricing runs from $50 to $1,000 per MW per year (platform subscription), depending on portfolio scale, site size and the depth of automation and monitoring you need. PowerTrack pricing is set by Stem; contact Stem directly for a quote.
How to choose
Keep PowerTrack as your main tool if you need
- A monitoring and DAS platform for new or existing sites
- Live plant data, alarms and controls in one place
- A system of record that your team and lenders already rely on
Add ClearSpot if you need
- Regular drone inspections with AI fault detection
- Faults ranked by impact rather than a long alarm list
- Automatic work orders and reports for multi-site portfolios
- One view across solar and storage, including BESS monitoring
If you are comparing inspection tools instead, see ClearSpot vs Raptor Maps. For a wider view of the market, see our list of the best solar asset management software in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is ClearSpot an AlsoEnergy PowerTrack alternative?
Only partly. PowerTrack is a monitoring and data acquisition platform. ClearSpot is an AI and drone automation layer for O&M. Most utility-scale operators run ClearSpot alongside their monitoring platform rather than replacing it.
Does ClearSpot replace SCADA or a DAS?
No. ClearSpot reads data from the monitoring, SCADA and DAS systems you already have. It adds drone inspection, AI fault detection, work orders and automated reporting on top.
Can ClearSpot use data from PowerTrack?
ClearSpot is designed to work with existing monitoring feeds. Confirm the integration method for your specific sites during a demo, since data access depends on your setup and contracts.
What does ClearSpot add that monitoring does not?
Module-level inspection evidence from drones, AI fault detection, ranking of faults by impact, automatic work orders and automated reports.
How much does ClearSpot cost?
Pricing runs from $50 to $1,000 per MW per year (platform subscription), depending on portfolio scale, site size and the depth of automation and monitoring.
Who is ClearSpot built for?
Independent power producers, asset owners, O&M contractors and EPCs managing utility-scale solar portfolios of roughly 50 MW to 1 GW.
See how ClearSpot would work alongside your current monitoring platform.