The future of energy is data-driven: Are we moving fast enough?
- Monique Berntsen
- Mar 20
- 2 min read
The clean energy transition is no longer a vision - it’s happening. The question is: how do we accelerate it?
This year’s Slush’D Mandal brought together a powerful mix of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders committed to solving this challenge. The message from the stage was clear: technology, capital, and collaboration must align to make the energy transition happen faster and smarter.
At SurplusMap, this is exactly the challenge we are solving. Scaling renewable energy isn’t just about building more - it’s about building in the right places, at the right time, with the right strategy. And that requires data-driven decision-making.
The missing piece in the energy transition puzzle
One of the strongest takeaways from Slush’D was that the energy transition is no longer constrained by ambition - but by execution. Governments, investors, and industries know we need to move fast, yet too many projects face bottlenecks in permitting, financing, and grid integration.
Why? Because we still rely on outdated, fragmented decision-making processes.
At SurplusMap, we see this firsthand:
Renewable energy projects are delayed due to a lack of site intelligence.
EV charging networks struggle with underutilization because they aren’t mapped to demand.
Investors hesitate because the risk assessment process is slow and unclear.
Data is the missing piece. If we want to scale clean energy, we must fix how we make decisions.
Why the future of energy is spatial
During the event, our CEO & founder, Luis, took the stage to present how geospatial intelligence is transforming the way we plan and scale clean energy infrastructure. The response was clear: investors, policymakers, and developers are ready for smarter tools that remove uncertainty from decision-making.
We believe that the future of energy is spatial, beacuse:
Location determines impact. A solar farm in the wrong place isn’t just inefficient; it’s a wasted investment.
Markets move faster than infrastructure. We need real-time insights to keep up with changing energy demand.
Grid constraints are real. Optimizing for where and when to deploy energy solutions is the only way to meet net-zero targets.
The best part? The technology to solve this already exists. What’s needed is wider adoption and integration of geospatial intelligence into energy planning.
What comes next?
Slush’D was more than just an event - it was a signal that the clean energy transition is gaining momentum. But momentum alone isn’t enough.
To truly accelerate the shift to a net-zero economy, we must move from ambition to execution, to enable faster permitting, better site selection, and smarter deployment strategies. Furthermore, the investment decisions needs to be data-driven, to reduce risk and uncertainty with real-time intelligence. And lastly, using geospatial intelligence as a standard, to scale energy solutions with precision and confidence.
At SurplusMap, we’re already working with cities, commercial and mobility hubs, energy companies and charge point operators to turn these insights into action. Because the future of energy isn’t just about what we build - it’s about where and how we build it.
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