NewSpaceVision #32: Mapping the Future of Renewable Energy with VIDA (feat. Philippe Raisin, Co-Founder & CTO)
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Jun 28, 2023 Philippe Raisin, co-founder and CTO of VIDA, blends physics and energy-systems expertise to build geospatial tools for renewable infrastructure. He discusses using satellite and nightlight data to map electrification, SaaS workflows for investors, challenges with high-resolution imagery licensing, and how AI and user-friendly maps are changing monitoring and field validation.
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Platform Shift From Projects To Investor SaaS
- Vida shifted from energy-access projects to servicing global renewable infrastructure investors with geospatial SaaS for site selection, due diligence, monitoring and reporting.
- The platform targets banks, donors and funds that lack transparent data for investment decisions.
Prefer Processed Geospatial Data
- Be opportunistic with geospatial inputs and prefer already-processed datasets over raw imagery to reduce engineering overhead.
- Use public products like nightlights, building footprints and commercial VHR only where necessary to answer specific questions.
DRC Mini Grid Program End‑to‑End Example
- In a DRC project Vida scanned the whole country to locate villages, assess electrification and extract spatial features for mini-grid planning.
- Governments then run ground surveys, inject field data into Vida and share results with private implementers via the platform.