Total and Google Cloud Effort Spawns Solar Mapper, To Gauge Solar Potential

French energy major Total and Google Cloud from Google have pooled their expertise to jointly develop an innovative tool, Solar Mapper, which aims to accelerate the deployment of solar panels for individuals (B2C) by providing an accurate and rapid estimate of the solar energy potential of their homes, first in Europe and then worldwide. The tool seeks to bring the small, residential segment tools that were hitherto unavailable, due to cost issues or even lack of expertise at the small installer level .

Solar Mapper uses brand-new artificial intelligence algorithms that provide better results than current tools, especially by improving:

• the quality of the data extracted from satellite images;
• the sharpness of the estimation of the solar potential;
• the relevance of the technology to be installed;
• the global geographical coverage of the tool.

In the case of France, Total’s home country, Solar Mapper provides more than 90% geographical coverage, allowing many more people to assess the solar potential of their homes, with greater accuracy than before.

“Solar Mapper will enable Total to faster deploy solar panels on the houses’ roofs, in order to provide its customers with more affordable and more accessible solar energy,” explains Marie-Noëlle Séméria, Total’s Chief Technology Officer. “By combining Total’s expertise in solar energy with Google Cloud’s expertise in artificial intelligence and databases, we were able to develop an attractive and innovative offer together in just 6 months.”

In addition, Total plans to develop a B2B application of Solar Mapper, dedicated to industrial and commercial buildings and installations.

Solar Mapper is contributing to the Group’s ambition to become a world leader in the production of renewable energies, toward getting to net-zero emissions by 2050 together with society.

In India, Total has gone in a big way for JV’s with the Adani group, in the areas of city gas distribution, solar energy (with Adani Green) and more.

Google itself has been making decisive moves as an investor in renewable energy, not only for its own needs, but also purely as an investor.