Tag Archives: Environment

Partnering with E.ON to bring Project Sunroof to Germany

Solar power is an abundant, low-carbon source of electricity, but historically it’s been more expensive than traditional electricity. Now, with solar costs dropping dramatically, many people are starting to ask: Does solar power make sense on my roof?

We launched Project Sunroof in the United States in 2015 to help answer this question and help consumers make accurate decisions about solar power for their homes. Starting today, people in Germany will be able to see the solar potential of their rooftops thanks to a partnership between Project Sunroof, E.ON and the software producer Tetraeder. This marks the first time Project Sunroof data will be made available outside of the U.S.

Around 7 million German buildings are currently covered by Project Sunroof, including urban areas such as Munich, Berlin, Rhine-Main and the Ruhr area. It’s as easy as entering your address.

To estimate the solar potential for individual buildings, we combined Google Earth, Google Maps, 3D models and machine learning to estimate solar generation potential accurately and at large scale. Project Sunroof estimates how much sunlight falls on the roof, accounting for historical weather patterns, the location of the sun throughout the year, the geometry of the roof, and shading from nearby objects such as trees and buildings. We then combine all of these factors to estimate solar energy generation potential for a particular address.

Project Sunroof DE

Project Sunroof data will be integrated on www.eon-solar.de beginning today. On the site, people can investigate their home’s solar potential, as well as purchase a suitable system consisting of photovoltaic modules, energy storage and system management software provided by E.ON. As of this month, the online tool covers about 40 percent of German homes.

Google has been using renewable energy sources within our own infrastructure and beyond for many years—in 2017, we announced a commitment for 100 percent renewable energy across our operations worldwide. With Project Sunroof, we want to help people become even more aware of the solar potential that’s just above the rafters. The future is bright!

Partnering with E.ON to bring Project Sunroof to Germany

Solar power is an abundant, low-carbon source of electricity, but historically it’s been more expensive than traditional electricity. Now, with solar costs dropping dramatically, many people are starting to ask: Does solar power make sense on my roof?

We launched Project Sunroof in the United States in 2015 to help answer this question and help consumers make accurate decisions about solar power for their homes. Starting today, people in Germany will be able to see the solar potential of their rooftops thanks to a partnership between Project Sunroof, E.ON and the software producer Tetraeder. This marks the first time Project Sunroof data will be made available outside of the U.S.

Around 7 million German buildings are currently covered by Project Sunroof, including urban areas such as Munich, Berlin, Rhine-Main and the Ruhr area. It’s as easy as entering your address.

To estimate the solar potential for individual buildings, we combined Google Earth, Google Maps, 3D models and machine learning to estimate solar generation potential accurately and at large scale. Project Sunroof estimates how much sunlight falls on the roof, accounting for historical weather patterns, the location of the sun throughout the year, the geometry of the roof, and shading from nearby objects such as trees and buildings. We then combine all of these factors to estimate solar energy generation potential for a particular address.

Project Sunroof DE

Project Sunroof data will be integrated on www.eon-solar.de beginning today. On the site, people can investigate their home’s solar potential, as well as purchase a suitable system consisting of photovoltaic modules, energy storage and system management software provided by E.ON. As of this month, the online tool covers about 40 percent of German homes.

Google has been using renewable energy sources within our own infrastructure and beyond for many years—in 2017, we announced a commitment for 100 percent renewable energy across our operations worldwide. With Project Sunroof, we want to help people become even more aware of the solar potential that’s just above the rafters. The future is bright!

Partnering with E.ON to bring Project Sunroof to Germany

Solar power is an abundant, low-carbon source of electricity, but historically it’s been more expensive than traditional electricity. Now, with solar costs dropping dramatically, many people are starting to ask: Does solar power make sense on my roof?

We launched Project Sunroof in the United States in 2015 to help answer this question and help consumers make accurate decisions about solar power for their homes. Starting today, people in Germany will be able to see the solar potential of their rooftops thanks to a partnership between Project Sunroof, E.ON and the software producer Tetraeder. This marks the first time Project Sunroof data will be made available outside of the U.S.

Around 7 million German buildings are currently covered by Project Sunroof, including urban areas such as Munich, Berlin, Rhine-Main and the Ruhr area. It’s as easy as entering your address.

To estimate the solar potential for individual buildings, we combined Google Earth, Google Maps, 3D models and machine learning to estimate solar generation potential accurately and at large scale. Project Sunroof estimates how much sunlight falls on the roof, accounting for historical weather patterns, the location of the sun throughout the year, the geometry of the roof, and shading from nearby objects such as trees and buildings. We then combine all of these factors to estimate solar energy generation potential for a particular address.

Project Sunroof DE

Project Sunroof data will be integrated on www.eon-solar.de beginning today. On the site, people can investigate their home’s solar potential, as well as purchase a suitable system consisting of photovoltaic modules, energy storage and system management software provided by E.ON. As of this month, the online tool covers about 40 percent of German homes.

Google has been using renewable energy sources within our own infrastructure and beyond for many years—in 2017, we announced a commitment for 100 percent renewable energy across our operations worldwide. With Project Sunroof, we want to help people become even more aware of the solar potential that’s just above the rafters. The future is bright!

Shedding light on solar potential in all 50 U.S. States

Solar power is an abundant, low carbon source of electricity, but historically it has been more expensive than traditional electricity. With solar costs dropping dramatically, many people are starting to ask: does solar power make sense on my rooftop? In my town or state?  Since its initial launch in 2015, Project Sunroof has used imagery from Google Maps and Google Earth, 3D modeling and machine learning to help answer those questions accurately and at scale. For every building included in the data, Project Sunroof calculates the amount of sunlight received by each portion of the roof over the course of a year, taking into account weather patterns, position of the sun in the sky at different times of year, and shade from nearby obstructions like trees and tall buildings. Finally, the estimated sunlight is translated into energy production using industry standard models for solar installation performance.

sunroof image 1
Project Sunroof county-level coverage from 2015 - 2017

Today, Project Sunroof is helping answer those questions for more places than ever, with an expansion that brings Project Sunroof’s data coverage to every state in the U.S, with a total of approximately 60 million buildings analyzed. The expanded data reveals some fascinating insights about the solar energy opportunity nationwide:


  • Seventy-nine percent of all rooftops analyzed are technically viable for solar, meaning those rooftops have enough unshaded area for solar panels.

  • Over 90 percent of homes in Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico are technically viable, while states like Pennsylvania, Maine and Minnesota reach just above 60 percent viability.

  • Houston, TX has the most solar potential of any U.S. city in the Project Sunroof data, with an estimated 18,940 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of rooftop solar generation potential per year. Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Antonio, and New York follow Houston for the top 5 solar potential cities -- see the full top 10 list in the chart below.
Sunroof image 2

To put the rooftop solar potential into perspective, the average U.S. home consumes 10,812 kilowatt-hours (kWh) a year according to EIA. There are one million kWh in one gigawatt-hour (GWh). One GWh of energy is enough to supply power to 90 homes for an entire year.

If the top ten cities above reached their full rooftop solar potential, they'd produce enough energy to power 8 million homes across the US.
Sunroof image 3
Sample of Project Sunroof solar energy potential map

This also means that if you've been thinking about going solar, there's a much better chance there's Project Sunroof data for your area. The Project Sunroof data explorer tool allows anyone to explore rooftop solar potential across U.S. zip codes, cities, counties and states. If you’re looking to learn about the solar and financial savings potential for your homes, the Project Sunroof savings estimator tool now covers 40x more buildings in the U.S. than when we launched it in 2015.

Sunroof Image 4
Visualization of solar potential at the Googleplex in Mountain View, CA.

Almost 10 years ago, Google became an early adopter of rooftop solar, installing a 1.6 megawatt (MW) solar array at our headquarters in Mountain View, CA—the largest corporate solar installation of its kind at the time. Today, Project Sunroof combines Google’s longstanding interest in sustainability and renewable energy with unique, high-quality information about the potential of rooftop solar power. We’re proud to be expanding coverage of this project to help more people decide if solar makes sense for you.  

Source: Google LatLong


Shedding light on solar potential in all 50 U.S. States

Solar power is an abundant, low carbon source of electricity, but historically it has been more expensive than traditional electricity. With solar costs dropping dramatically, many people are starting to ask: does solar power make sense on my rooftop? In my town or state?  Since its initial launch in 2015, Project Sunroof has used imagery from Google Maps and Google Earth, 3D modeling and machine learning to help answer those questions accurately and at scale. For every building included in the data, Project Sunroof calculates the amount of sunlight received by each portion of the roof over the course of a year, taking into account weather patterns, position of the sun in the sky at different times of year, and shade from nearby obstructions like trees and tall buildings. Finally, the estimated sunlight is translated into energy production using industry standard models for solar installation performance.

sunroof image 1
Project Sunroof county-level coverage from 2015 - 2017

Today, Project Sunroof is helping answer those questions for more places than ever, with an expansion that brings Project Sunroof’s data coverage to every state in the U.S, with a total of approximately 60 million buildings analyzed. The expanded data reveals some fascinating insights about the solar energy opportunity nationwide:


  • Seventy-nine percent of all rooftops analyzed are technically viable for solar, meaning those rooftops have enough unshaded area for solar panels.

  • Over 90 percent of homes in Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico are technically viable, while states like Pennsylvania, Maine and Minnesota reach just above 60 percent viability.

  • Houston, TX has the most solar potential of any U.S. city in the Project Sunroof data, with an estimated 18,940 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of rooftop solar generation potential per year. Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Antonio, and New York follow Houston for the top 5 solar potential cities -- see the full top 10 list in the chart below.
Sunroof image 2

To put the rooftop solar potential into perspective, the average U.S. home consumes 10,812 kilowatt-hours (kWh) a year according to EIA. There are one million kWh in one gigawatt-hour (GWh). One GWh of energy is enough to supply power to 90 homes for an entire year.

If the top ten cities above reached their full rooftop solar potential, they'd produce enough energy to power 8 million homes across the US.
Sunroof image 3
Sample of Project Sunroof solar energy potential map

This also means that if you've been thinking about going solar, there's a much better chance there's Project Sunroof data for your area. The Project Sunroof data explorer tool allows anyone to explore rooftop solar potential across U.S. zip codes, cities, counties and states. If you’re looking to learn about the solar and financial savings potential for your homes, the Project Sunroof savings estimator tool now covers 40x more buildings in the U.S. than when we launched it in 2015.

Sunroof Image 4
Visualization of solar potential at the Googleplex in Mountain View, CA.

Almost 10 years ago, Google became an early adopter of rooftop solar, installing a 1.6 megawatt (MW) solar array at our headquarters in Mountain View, CA—the largest corporate solar installation of its kind at the time. Today, Project Sunroof combines Google’s longstanding interest in sustainability and renewable energy with unique, high-quality information about the potential of rooftop solar power. We’re proud to be expanding coverage of this project to help more people decide if solar makes sense for you.  

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau documents the changing landscape of Greenland

Editor’s note: Today’s post comes from Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, “Game of Thrones” star and newly-appointed U.N. Goodwill Ambassador. Nikolaj partnered with our Street View team to collect imagery of Greenland's beautiful and changing landscape, where the impact of global warming can be seen firsthand.


Year after year we’ve seen record high temperatures across our planet due to global warming. And Greenland, which I consider my family's second home, is changing faster than anywhere else on Earth. Here the effects of climate change are easy to see: as sea ice melts and glaciers crumble, places once covered in ice are now bare land.


Greenland Glacier

See Greenland Glacier in Timelapse

Late last year, the Google Maps team came to visit and we went on an adventure to collect Street View imagery of Greenland. Statistics, scientific reports and graphs can be bewildering, but I hope seeing these images will help people understand the drastic changes taking place in Greenland, and inspire you to fall in love with it the way I have. Unless we change these climate trends, the next time we bring the trekker to Greenland the landscape may be unrecognizable from what you see today.

Nikolaj Trekker

Our first stop is the town of Igaliku. With a population of just 27, Igaliku is one of Greenland’s most idyllic villages—a smattering of brightly colored houses and hillsides dotted with sheep. As the landscape has changed, so too has the local economy. Alongside new opportunities to mine precious metals that were previously inaccessible, the changing patterns of freezing and melting glaciers have dramatically disrupted the fishing and hunting lifestyles that have sustained the local Inuit population for centuries.

Igaliku

Greenland is also known for its hot springs. The geothermal springs on the remote island of Uunartoq are one of my favorite destinations, with views of icebergs and towering snow-capped mountain peaks.

Hotspring

Our final stop is the majestic glacial-covered Qoorog Fjord, where the second largest ice sheet in the world terminates into the sea. The ice sheet is melting at an increased pace—pouring 300 billion tons of ice into the ocean each year. This melting harms important coastal ecosystems, local food and water supplies and is a major contribution to rising sea levels.

Ice

We have a responsibility to protect this beautiful planet we live on, and I’m starting at my own front door. But everywhere and everyone is vulnerable to the effects of our warming planet. Let’s band together and do something about it—learn about global efforts to combat climate change and discover ways to take action.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau documents the changing landscape of Greenland

Editor’s note: Today’s post comes from Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, “Game of Thrones” star and newly-appointed U.N. Goodwill Ambassador. Nikolaj partnered with our Street View team to collect imagery of Greenland's beautiful and changing landscape, where the impact of global warming can be seen firsthand.

Year after year we’ve seen record high temperatures across our planet due to global warming. And Greenland, which I consider my family's second home, is changing faster than anywhere else on Earth. Here the effects of climate change are easy to see: as sea ice melts and glaciers crumble, places once covered in ice are now bare land.

Greenland Glacier

See Greenland Glacier in Timelapse

Late last year, the Google Maps team came to visit and we went on an adventure to collect Street View imagery of Greenland. Statistics, scientific reports and graphs can be bewildering, but I hope seeing these images will help people understand the drastic changes taking place in Greenland, and inspire you to fall in love with it the way I have. Unless we change these climate trends, the next time we bring the trekker to Greenland the landscape may be unrecognizable from what you see today.

Nikolaj Trekker

Our first stop is the town of Igaliku. With a population of just 27, Igaliku is one of Greenland’s most idyllic villages—a smattering of brightly colored houses and hillsides dotted with sheep. As the landscape has changed, so too has the local economy. Alongside new opportunities to mine precious metals that were previously inaccessible, the changing patterns of freezing and melting glaciers have dramatically disrupted the fishing and hunting lifestyles that have sustained the local Inuit population for centuries.

Igaliku

Greenland is also known for its hot springs. The geothermal springs on the remote island of Uunartoq are one of my favorite destinations, with views of icebergs and towering snow-capped mountain peaks.

Hotspring

Our final stop is the majestic glacial-covered Qoorog Fjord, where the second largest ice sheet in the world terminates into the sea. The ice sheet is melting at an increased pace—pouring 300 billion tons of ice into the ocean each year. This melting harms important coastal ecosystems, local food and water supplies and is a major contribution to rising sea levels.

Ice

We have a responsibility to protect this beautiful planet we live on, and I’m starting at my own front door. But everywhere and everyone is vulnerable to the effects of our warming planet. Let’s band together and do something about it—learn about global efforts to combat climate change and discover ways to take action.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau documents the changing landscape of Greenland

Editor’s note: Today’s post comes from Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, “Game of Thrones” star and newly-appointed U.N. Goodwill Ambassador. Nikolaj partnered with our Street View team to collect imagery of Greenland's beautiful and changing landscape, where the impact of global warming can be seen firsthand.

Year after year we’ve seen record high temperatures across our planet due to global warming. And Greenland, which I consider my family's second home, is changing faster than anywhere else on Earth. Here the effects of climate change are easy to see: as sea ice melts and glaciers crumble, places once covered in ice are now bare land.

Greenland Glacier

See Greenland Glacier in Timelapse

Late last year, the Google Maps team came to visit and we went on an adventure to collect Street View imagery of Greenland. Statistics, scientific reports and graphs can be bewildering, but I hope seeing these images will help people understand the drastic changes taking place in Greenland, and inspire you to fall in love with it the way I have. Unless we change these climate trends, the next time we bring the trekker to Greenland the landscape may be unrecognizable from what you see today.

Nikolaj Trekker

Our first stop is the town of Igaliku. With a population of just 27, Igaliku is one of Greenland’s most idyllic villages—a smattering of brightly colored houses and hillsides dotted with sheep. As the landscape has changed, so too has the local economy. Alongside new opportunities to mine precious metals that were previously inaccessible, the changing patterns of freezing and melting glaciers have dramatically disrupted the fishing and hunting lifestyles that have sustained the local Inuit population for centuries.

Igaliku

Greenland is also known for its hot springs. The geothermal springs on the remote island of Uunartoq are one of my favorite destinations, with views of icebergs and towering snow-capped mountain peaks.

Hotspring

Our final stop is the majestic glacial-covered Qoorog Fjord, where the second largest ice sheet in the world terminates into the sea. The ice sheet is melting at an increased pace—pouring 300 billion tons of ice into the ocean each year. This melting harms important coastal ecosystems, local food and water supplies and is a major contribution to rising sea levels.

Ice

We have a responsibility to protect this beautiful planet we live on, and I’m starting at my own front door. But everywhere and everyone is vulnerable to the effects of our warming planet. Let’s band together and do something about it—learn about global efforts to combat climate change and discover ways to take action.

Source: Google LatLong


Powering a Cleaner Energy Future in Europe

On February 2nd, we hosted an event at our Brussels office to discuss how businesses like Google are turning to renewable energy and consider how EU energy policies can meet the changing needs of consumers and the marketplace. With leaders from both the private sector and policy community, including keynote speaker, European Commission Vice President for the Energy, Maroš Šefčovič and our panelist, MEP Kathleen Van Brempt, we hosted the event with RE100, a non-profit initiative of influential businesses committed to 100% renewable energy.

Last December, we were proud to announce that Google is on track to reach 100% renewable energy for our  global operations, including both our data centers and offices in 2017. We have committed to renewable energy both to ensure we run our company as sustainably as possible and because it makes business sense as renewables become increasingly cost competitive. To date we’ve signed contracts for 2.6 gigawatts of renewable projects, making- us the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable power.

Re100 Event February 2017 2

At out event we spoke alongside other companies committed to renewable energy, such as Nestle, IKEA, and Swiss Re, amongst others, who are also demonstrating through their own efforts that renewables make good business sense.  The business case for renewable energy was further highlighted by European Commission Vice President for Energy, Maroš Šefčovič who emphasized that the production costs for renewables have drastically reduced in the last 10 years.

Of course, there are still challenges facing the renewable energy market, many of which are addressed in comprehensive measures on renewables and energy market design recently proposed by the European Commission. Two key topics of discussion at the event were the need for sound policies to help remove barriers to deployment of renewables and more cross-border cooperation in order to implement Europe-wide initiatives.

At Google, we are excited to see so much progress and are committed to working together with policy maker and others to drive a cleaner energy future in Europe.

Commissioner Re100
European Commission Vice President for Energy, Maroš Šefčovič powering his breakfast smoothie with renewable energy. :-)

Powering a Cleaner Energy Future in Europe

On February 2nd, we hosted an event at our Brussels office to discuss how businesses like Google are turning to renewable energy and consider how EU energy policies can meet the changing needs of consumers and the marketplace. With leaders from both the private sector and policy community, including keynote speaker, European Commission Vice President for the Energy, Maroš Šefčovič and our panelist, MEP Kathleen Van Brempt, we hosted the event with RE100, a non-profit initiative of influential businesses committed to 100% renewable energy.

Last December, we were proud to announce that Google is on track to reach 100% renewable energy for our  global operations, including both our data centers and offices in 2017. We have committed to renewable energy both to ensure we run our company as sustainably as possible and because it makes business sense as renewables become increasingly cost competitive. To date we’ve signed contracts for 2.6 gigawatts of renewable projects, making- us the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable power.

Re100 Event February 2017 2

At out event we spoke alongside other companies committed to renewable energy, such as Nestle, IKEA, and Swiss Re, amongst others, who are also demonstrating through their own efforts that renewables make good business sense.  The business case for renewable energy was further highlighted by European Commission Vice President for Energy, Maroš Šefčovič who emphasized that the production costs for renewables have drastically reduced in the last 10 years.

Of course, there are still challenges facing the renewable energy market, many of which are addressed in comprehensive measures on renewables and energy market design recently proposed by the European Commission. Two key topics of discussion at the event were the need for sound policies to help remove barriers to deployment of renewables and more cross-border cooperation in order to implement Europe-wide initiatives.

At Google, we are excited to see so much progress and are committed to working together with policy maker and others to drive a cleaner energy future in Europe.

Commissioner Re100
European Commission Vice President for Energy, Maroš Šefčovič powering his breakfast smoothie with renewable energy. :-)