Google has announced today (29 August) that it will sell data from Google Maps to help the transition to renewable solar energy.
Companies will be able to access APIs (application programming interfaces) with data of over 320 million buildings in over 40 countries.
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Internal documents reviewed by CNBC show that Google anticipates earnings of over $100m in its first year of licensing the data.
The data sold will contain information about an area’s air quality as well as the solar and energy infrastructure of the area. Google’s potential customers for the data include renewable energy installers and designers. However, Google also believes there is potential to sell this data on to housing companies and estate agents.
The data sold would enable solar panel designers to know where a building is likely to receive the most sunlight, which helps to speed up the design process and saves money.
Co-founder and CEO of solar installation company Mona Lee Walid Halty explains the disruption this access to data will cause within the solar energy sector.
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By GlobalData“The Solar API is a key input – it instantly gives us the data we need to analyse rooftops to determine how much sunlight they get to create customer proposals within the same workflow,” says Halty.
“By doing this remotely and instantly, we have greater cost savings and can provide a better customer experience,” adds Halty.
According to GlobalData research, solar energy is the fastest growing energy source worldwide.
The analyst forecasts that solar power will account for over 15% of the world’s electricity generation by 2035, which is up from only 5% in 2022.
Google also recognises that this interest in solar power has increased, stating that its data shows the term “rooftop solar power” was searched at a rate 60% higher than last year.
In its blogpost announcing the APIs, Google was optimistic that providing companies with access to this data would help it towards its collective commitment to reducing one gigaton of carbon emissions.
