Google to begin selling maps data to companies building solar products, hopes to generate $100 million in first year

Google is planning to license new sets of mapping data to a range of companies to use as they build products around renewable energy, and is hoping generate up to $100 million in its first year, CNBC has learned.

The company plans to sell access to new APIs (application programming interfaces) with solar and energy information and air quality, according to materials viewed by CNBC.

Among the new offerings will be a Solar API, which could be used by solar installers like SunRun and Tesla Energy and solar design companies like Aurora Solar, according to a list of example customers viewed by CNBC. Google also sees customer opportunities with real estate companies like Zillow, Redfin, hospitality companies like Marriott Bonvoy, and utilities like PG&E.

Some of the data from the Solar API will come from a consumer-focused pilot called Project Sunroof, a solar savings calculator that originally launched in 2015. The program allows users to enter their address and to receive estimated solar costs such as electric bill savings and the size of the solar installation they’ll need. It also offers 3D modeling of the roofs of buildings and nearby trees based on Google Maps data. 

Google plans to sell API access to individual building data, as well as aggregated data for all buildings in a particular city or county, one document states. The company says it has data for over 350 million buildings, according to documents, up significantly from the 60 million buildings it cited for Project Sunroof in 2017.

One internal document estimates the company’s solar APIs will generate revenue between $90 and $100 million in the first year after launch. There’s also a potential to connect with Google Cloud products down the line, documents state.

As part of the planned launch, the company is also planning to announce an Air Quality…