Utility-scale solar teams already run a stack of software: a SCADA or monitoring portal, inverter and tracker platforms, a CMMS for work orders, drone flight and mapping tools, and a data warehouse or BI layer. ClearSpot does not ask you to replace any of it. ClearSpot works alongside your existing stack, reading the data you already collect and writing results back into the tools your teams already use.
ClearSpot is an AI and drone automation platform for utility-scale solar O&M. It combines autonomous drone inspection data with SCADA and monitoring data, detects and prioritises faults, and pushes work orders into your CMMS so technicians fix the issues that cost the most energy first. It connects to existing systems through APIs and data exports, standard industrial protocols, or connectors configured during onboarding.
Want to check how ClearSpot would connect to your systems? Book a demo and bring your list of platforms.
How solar O&M integrations work: from drone image to closed work order
Every solar O&M integration ClearSpot sets up serves one data flow. The aim is that a fault seen by a drone or flagged in SCADA ends up as a verified repair, not as a line in a spreadsheet. This flow is the core of the automated solar operations platform.
- Collect. Drone thermal and RGB imagery arrives from flight software or a file upload, and SCADA and monitoring data (inverter, string, tracker, meter and weather data) arrives through an API, data export or a standard protocol.
- Detect. AI models analyse the imagery and the time-series data together, with 99% fault detection on drone inspection data.
- Prioritise. Faults are ranked by estimated energy and revenue impact, so a failed inverter outranks a single soiled module.
- Act. A work order with location, fault type, evidence images and recommended action is pushed into your CMMS or EAM.
- Verify. After the repair, the next SCADA readings or a follow-up flight confirm the fix, and the work order is closed with evidence.
For a closer look at the SCADA side of this flow, read why ClearSpot adds an AI layer over SCADA and how SCADA anomalies become work orders automatically.
How to read the connection method column
The tables below list the software that utility-scale solar operators most often use. Inclusion in a table does not mean an official partnership or certification with that vendor. The connection method column describes how ClearSpot typically exchanges data with that type of system:
- API / data export: ClearSpot reads from or writes to the system through its API or scheduled data exports.
- Standard protocol (Modbus TCP, OPC UA, MQTT): ClearSpot connects through an industrial protocol the system or its gateway exposes.
- Connector available on request: a connector is scoped and configured for your deployment.
Native connectors are configured during onboarding; ask us about your specific system.
SCADA energy monitoring and APM platforms
SCADA energy monitoring systems and asset performance management (APM) portals are the main source of time-series data for ClearSpot. Inverter, string and meter readings explain which faults are costing energy; drone imagery explains why.
| System | Category | Connection method |
|---|---|---|
| AlsoEnergy PowerTrack | Monitoring / APM | API / data export |
| Power Factors (Drive, Unity) | APM | API / data export |
| GPM Horizon (DNV) | Monitoring / SCADA | API / data export |
| Trimark | Monitoring / SCADA | API / data export |
| Inaccess | Monitoring / SCADA | API / data export |
| Bazefield | Monitoring / APM | API / data export |
| meteocontrol VCOM | Monitoring | API / data export |
| Solar-Log | Monitoring | API / data export |
| Huawei FusionSolar | Inverter monitoring | API / data export |
| SMA (Sunny Portal / ennexOS) | Inverter monitoring | API / data export |
| Sungrow iSolarCloud | Inverter monitoring | API / data export |
| SolarEdge monitoring | Inverter monitoring | API / data export |
| Ignition (Inductive Automation) | SCADA | Standard protocol (Modbus TCP, OPC UA, MQTT) |
| AVEVA PI System | Historian | Standard protocol (Modbus TCP, OPC UA, MQTT) |
| Siemens WinCC | SCADA | Standard protocol (Modbus TCP, OPC UA, MQTT) |
| Schneider EcoStruxure | SCADA | Standard protocol (Modbus TCP, OPC UA, MQTT) |
If you are comparing monitoring approaches across a portfolio, see the utility-scale solar portfolio monitoring guide.
Tracker control platforms
Tracker position and stow data help separate a tracker fault from a module or inverter fault, and they explain shading patterns seen in drone imagery.
| System | Category | Connection method |
|---|---|---|
| Nextracker (NX Navigator, TrueCapture) | Tracker control | Connector available on request |
| Array Technologies (SmarTrack) | Tracker control | Connector available on request |
CMMS, EAM and ERP systems
This is where findings turn into work. ClearSpot creates work orders in the system your maintenance team already uses, so there is no second ticket queue to watch. See how AI agents generate CMMS tickets for the content of a typical ticket.
| System | Category | Connection method |
|---|---|---|
| IBM Maximo | EAM | Connector available on request |
| SAP Plant Maintenance (S/4HANA) | ERP / EAM | Connector available on request |
| Oracle EAM | EAM | Connector available on request |
| Infor EAM | EAM | Connector available on request |
| Fiix | CMMS | Connector available on request |
| UpKeep | CMMS | Connector available on request |
| Limble | CMMS | Connector available on request |
Drones, flight and photogrammetry software
ClearSpot accepts thermal and RGB imagery from common enterprise drones and from flight and mapping tools, then runs AI defect detection on the results.
| System | Category | Connection method |
|---|---|---|
| DJI FlightHub 2 | Fleet and flight management | API / data export |
| DJI Terra | Photogrammetry / mapping | API / data export |
| DJI Matrice 30T / 350 RTK with H20T/H30T | Enterprise drone and thermal payload | API / data export |
| DJI Mavic 3 Thermal | Thermal drone | API / data export |
| Pix4D | Photogrammetry | API / data export |
| DroneDeploy | Flight and mapping platform | API / data export |
Data, BI and cloud platforms
Many owners keep a central data platform for finance and asset management reporting. ClearSpot can feed fault, availability and work order data into it.
| System | Category | Connection method |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Power BI | BI / reporting | API / data export |
| Snowflake | Data warehouse | API / data export |
| AWS IoT | Cloud IoT | Standard protocol (Modbus TCP, OPC UA, MQTT) |
| Azure IoT | Cloud IoT | Standard protocol (Modbus TCP, OPC UA, MQTT) |
| Google BigQuery | Data warehouse | API / data export |
Protocols and file formats
| Protocol or format | Typical use in solar O&M |
|---|---|
| Modbus TCP | Reading inverter, meter and device registers |
| OPC UA | Reading tags from SCADA servers and historians |
| MQTT | Streaming telemetry from gateways and cloud IoT services |
| IEC 61850 | Substation and grid-side data |
| SunSpec | Standardised inverter data models |
| REST API | Exchanging data with cloud platforms and CMMS |
| CSV / SFTP | Scheduled file-based data exchange |
| GeoTIFF / KML | Georeferenced maps and fault locations |
Results from connected data
When drone and monitoring data feed one workflow, teams spend less time compiling data and more time fixing faults. On a 100 MW solar portfolio in India, combining drone and AI inspection data with monitoring data in automated reports cut reporting and analysis time by 90%. Across deployments, ClearSpot customers target 30–50% lower O&M cost, 65% less downtime and 97%+ plant availability.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to replace my SCADA or monitoring platform to use ClearSpot?
No. ClearSpot works alongside your existing stack. It reads data from your SCADA, monitoring and drone tools and writes work orders into your CMMS.
Is ClearSpot an official or certified partner of these vendors?
No. The tables list software commonly used in utility-scale solar and show how ClearSpot typically connects to it. They do not imply a partnership, certification or endorsement.
My system is not listed. Can ClearSpot still connect to it?
Usually, yes. Most systems expose an API, a data export or a standard protocol such as Modbus TCP, OPC UA or MQTT. Native connectors are configured during onboarding; ask us about your specific system.
How do work orders reach my CMMS?
ClearSpot creates a work order for each prioritised fault, with location, fault type, evidence images and a recommended action, and pushes it into your CMMS or EAM so technicians work from one queue.
Which drones work with ClearSpot?
ClearSpot processes thermal and RGB imagery from common enterprise drones and from flight and photogrammetry software, including the DJI models and tools listed above.
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 depth of automation and monitoring.
Map your stack with our team
Send us the list of systems on your plants and we will show which connection method applies to each. Book a demo to see the full flow from drone image to closed work order, or read more about the ClearSpot automated solar operations platform.