Get Energy Smart! NOW!

Want to take a virtual tour in the world of distributed power?   

Thanks to Equity Green, I learned the news that San Francisco Launches Solar Energy Mapping Website.

A solar mapping web tool was recently launched for the city of San Francisco.  Its actually pretty cool and addicting.  I liked scrolling over all the houses to see who is saving more per year with their solar panels. 

Let me second that.

As per the introductury presentation from the San Francisco government (who did this partnered with EMS), the intention is to “help [SF citizens] plan for a solar powered future.”  SF seeks to have 10,000 solar roofs in the next five years … and this is a tool to help do so.

With the SF Solar Map, the 585 sites show up brightly on the map … move around and you can get quick information about the installation, amount of KwH and installer.  With the address in hand, time to go “get my info” about installations.  That’ll pull up a satellite photo of the site and an estimation of the kwh production and its financial value.

There are many useful links, to installers, estimators and otherwise.

 This is an educational tool that could help lower the bar to actually getting a solar installation in San Francisco and something that could be emulated elsewhere in the country.

A small however …

At this time, there are 585 sites listed. Sounds like a lot … hmmm … well … actually … scrolling around the city with a satellite image highlights just how little penetration 585 really is.  With serious government financial support, a rich city, a social environment that seems more ready to support Green of all types, and concentrated wealth, just 585 sites out of how many 100,000s of roofs?  And, the target of 10,000.  Admirable, but is the drop in the bucket.