Why We Built the Environmental Impact Study (EIS): Saving Time, Reducing Effort, and Empowering Teams

Why We Built the Environmental Impact Study (EIS): Saving Time, Reducing Effort, and Empowering Teams

At Paces, our mission is to enable the climate-optimum use case of every piece of land to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy. With 80% of renewable energy projects failing to reach completion, it's critical to empower developers with the speed and insights needed to make informed decisions early in the process. Our newest product, the Environmental Impact Study (EIS), is designed to do just that. By streamlining site screening and due diligence, EIS helps developers avoid potential pitfalls, enabling them to move forward faster and more confidently.

A Common Problem: Time-Consuming, Manual Work

One of the biggest challenges developers face is the time-intensive, manual effort required for site screening. Traditionally, companies either assign this task to their in-house teams or outsource this process to consultants, both of which have significant drawbacks. 

When done internally, site screening can consume hours, if not days, of a GIS analyst or junior developer’s time. They must manually gather and cross-check  data from various sources, including environmental records, zoning maps, and permitting guidelines, ensuring every detail is accounted for. This meticulous process  is critical to avoid costly mistakes later, but diverts attention away from more strategic, high-impact tasks like project design, stakeholder engagement, and financial modeling.

On the other hand, outsourcing desktop analysis to consultants may seem convenient, but it often introduces delays. Reports can take weeks to arrive, slowing down entire projects. Additionally, these services don’t come cheap, consultants charge thousands of dollars per report, creating inefficiencies in a fast-moving industry. 

Enter the Environmental Impact Study (EIS)

We built the EIS to tackle these exact pain points by saving time and reducing the need for expensive, labor-intensive manual work. Our goal was simple: to create a product that enables developers to conduct environmental due diligence quickly, accurately, and affordably.

The EIS automates the process of consolidating essential environmental, zoning, and permitting data into a single comprehensive report. What once took hours spent pulling data from disparate sources or waiting weeks for a consultant’s analysis, can now be completed in minutes.

By automating this traditionally manual process, the EIS allows your team to focus on what really matters: moving projects forward. 

Why This Matters for Your Team

In the fast-paced, competitive world of renewable energy development, efficiency is crucial. Developers can’t afford to lose valuable time waiting on consultants for reports.  That’s why we created the EIS—designed to give developers control over their due diligence process. With our tool, you no longer need to rely on external consultants for critical site information—it’s all at your fingertips.

But it's more than just saving time—it's about empowering your team. The EIS equips you to perform comprehensive, reliable site screenings independently, enabling you to move faster and with greater confidence. And with data sourced from trusted government and environmental agencies, you can be confident in its accuracy every step of the way.

The EIS also allows your team to identify site risks early and make informed decisions without the usual bottlenecks. By reducing manual tasks, the EIS minimizes the risk of human error - ensuring that critical environmental data—such as wetlands, floodplains, or local permitting ordinances—is gathered and presented in a clear, consistent format. This means no overlooked details and always having the most accurate, up-to-date information.

The time savings with EIS are substantial. Beta users have reported that a tasks that used to take up to 1.5 hours can now be completed in as little as 3 minutes. This efficiency boost allows teams to produce far more than the usual 2-4 reports per week, freeing them from repetitive tasks and enabling them to advance projects more effectively. 

Moving Forward, Smarter

As we continue to grow our dataset, we’re excited to help teams across the country save time and focus on delivering clean energy, faster.

If you’re ready to save time, reduce manual effort, and empower your team with the tools they need to succeed, Paces is ready to show you how EIS can help.