Google to sell maps data to companies building solar products

Google is planning to license new units of mapping knowledge to a variety of firms to make use of as they construct merchandise round renewable vitality, and is hoping generate as much as $100 million in its first yr, CNBC has realized.

The corporate plans to promote entry to new APIs (software programming interfaces) with photo voltaic and vitality info and air high quality, in accordance with supplies seen by CNBC.

Among the many new choices can be a Photo voltaic API, which may very well be utilized by photo voltaic installers like SunRun and Tesla Power and photo voltaic design firms like Aurora Photo voltaic, in accordance with a listing of instance clients seen by CNBC. Google additionally sees buyer alternatives with actual property firms like Zillow, Redfin, hospitality firms like Marriott Bonvoy, and utilities like PG&E.

Among the knowledge from the Photo voltaic API will come from a consumer-focused pilot referred to as Mission Sunroof, a photo voltaic financial savings calculator that initially launched in 2015. This system permits customers to enter their deal with and to obtain estimated photo voltaic prices corresponding to electrical invoice financial savings and the dimensions of the photo voltaic set up they’re going to want. It additionally affords 3D modeling of the roofs of buildings and close by bushes primarily based on Google Maps knowledge. 

Google plans to promote API entry to particular person constructing knowledge, in addition to aggregated knowledge for all buildings in a selected metropolis or county, one doc states. The corporate says it has knowledge for over 350 million buildings, in accordance with paperwork, up considerably from the 60 million buildings it cited for Mission Sunroof in 2017.

One inner doc estimates the corporate’s photo voltaic APIs will generate income between $90 and $100 million within the first yr after launch. There’s additionally a possible to attach with Google Cloud merchandise down the road, paperwork state.

As a part of the deliberate launch, the corporate can also be planning to announce an Air High quality API that can let clients request air high quality knowledge, corresponding to pollution and health-based suggestions for particular areas. It’s going to additionally embody digital warmth maps of the info and hourly air high quality info, in addition to air high quality historical past of as much as 30 days.

Google didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

The most recent income play comes as the corporate has been making an attempt to monetize its maps merchandise because it faces strain to supply income amid a broader financial slowdown. Whereas the corporate is specializing in changing into extra environment friendly, it is also been investing in newer applied sciences like generative AI and sustainability — a promote it hopes to reap the benefits of with the Photo voltaic API.

The corporate at the moment licenses its mapping API for navigation to firms like Uber, which mentioned in 2019 it paid Google $58 million over there years. Maps API income goes towards the corporate’s cloud section, which lastly turned worthwhile within the first quarter however has had a rocky path towards making an attempt to compete with market leaders Amazon and Microsoft.

Google does not get away how a lot its Maps enterprise makes, nevertheless it has traditionally been one in all Google’s most under-monetized merchandise, Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak instructed CNBC in 2021. On the time, Morgan Stanley had estimated Google Maps would earn $11.1 billion by this yr as new journey merchandise and promoted pins started to extend advert income.

The transfer additionally comes as the corporate makes an attempt to streamline its mapping merchandise. In June, CNBC discovered the corporate was shedding staff at traffic-reporting app Waze, which it acquired in 2013, and mixing it with the Google Maps staff.