Google To Sell Maps Data to Solar Energy and Environmental Firms

Google plans to sell its mapping data to companies building renewable energy projects across the globe.

The mapping data will provide clean energy companies access to a range of services that apply artificial intelligence and machine learning to environmental information, a Google spokesperson told The Messenger.

Third-party companies will get access to information on air quality, solar and building data across millions of locations in more than 100 countries. The search engine giant aims to rake in $100 million in revenue from the new Google Maps business venture within its first year, a report by CNBC claims, citing company documents.

Ultimately, the plan suggests Google seeks to turn its free Maps tool into a revenue-generating venture as it seeks to diversify from search. The company also plans to integrate the products part of Google Cloud, the internal documents reviewed by CNBC suggest.

Google Bets on Solar

A cornerstone of Google’s plans include a Solar API, which would give companies access to solar energy information gathered from Google Maps’ Project Sunroof.

Launched in 2015, Project Sunroof uses high-res 3D imaging to analyze nearby structures and local weather patterns to help users calculate energy savings and create personalized solar energy plans. With information gathered from over 40 countries, the product will include data for more than 320 million buildings.

“We trained an AI model to extract 3D information about the roof geometry directly from aerial imagery,” Yael Maguire, Google’s Vice President of Geo Sustainability, wrote in a blog post about the product on Monday.

“Solar API accounts for factors like historical weather patterns in the area, energy costs and more [meaning] that businesses like solar installers can see how much sunlight buildings receive and potential energy savings, before even visiting the area.”

Solar API will also give users information on the Sun’s path and historical weather patterns to support solar panel installation plans.

Google has reportedly identified companies including Tesla, Zillow and solar-design company Aurora as potential customers for the product. Solar API can help businesses create climate impact at scale and adapt to a changing world, a Google insider with knowledge of the products explained to The Messenger.

Google’s two other new mapping products include Air Quality, which leverages information from over 100 countries to provide customers with air quality values on a scale of 1-100; as well as Pollen API, which gives developers access to a daily pollen forecast, including trees, grasses and weed pollen, and a 96-hour heat map forecast.

Solar API, Air Quality and Pollen API will be generally available to customers at an undisclosed date. All three products are designed to drive clean energy adoption — particularly solar — across millions of households and help businesses provide environmental information to more people.