Google expands US coverage of Sunroof tool

SeeNews Renewables — Search engine giant Google has expanded the US coverage of its Sunroof application for calculating a roof’s solar energy potential by 20 new metropolitan areas. The service now covers the metropolitan areas in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina. Google describes its online tool, named “Project Sunroof,” as an attempt to create a “treasure map” for solar energy, essentially adding solar data to its Google Earth aerial mapping to identify areas with the best potential for solar generation. The tool estimates whether a home’s rooftop is suitable for solar power […]

By Derick Lila January 7, 20160

SeeNews Renewables — Search engine giant Google has expanded the US coverage of its Sunroof application for calculating a roof’s solar energy potential by 20 new metropolitan areas.

The service now covers the metropolitan areas in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina.

Google describes its online tool, named “Project Sunroof,” as an attempt to create a “treasure map” for solar energy, essentially adding solar data to its Google Earth aerial mapping to identify areas with the best potential for solar generation.

The tool estimates whether a home’s rooftop is suitable for solar power generation, what the installation of solar panels would cost, and what could be the homeowner’s savings from monthly utility bills.

Sunroof also links to a second evaluation option via the PV Watts tool of the the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

SeeNews Renewables
SeeNews Renewables goes beyond the familiar renewable markets of Western Europe and the US to encompass the potential of BRIC counties and emerging investment destinations in North Africa, the Asia Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe. SeeNews Renewables is covering all renewable energy sources: wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, geothermal and marine energy.