NEW YORK — Home and business owners in 25 cities, including Denver, soon will be able to punch up the solar-energy potential of their own rooftops on a free website, under a mapping program rolling out with backing from the Department of Energy.
Douglas County-based engineering giant CH2M Hill, which rang up $5 billion in revenue last year and lists 23,000 employees, won a small but noteworthy contract of $6 million to provide raw data on solar power potential under the U.S. Solar America Initiative.
The contract pays for expansion of the city of San Francisco’s recently posted solar-energy map using aerial imagery and is combined with advanced 3-D modeling, available through a Web portal sf.solarmap . Typing an address into the city’s search engine pulls up data on the estimated amount of solar photovoltaic energy that could be installed on a specific roof, potential electricity cost reduction and potential carbon dioxide/greenhouse gas reduction.
The website also provides information on installing a photovoltaic system, including contact information for local solar installers.
David Herrmann, client solution director at CH2M Hill, said the mapping program could potentially replace the current method of assessing solar-energy potential.
“Right now, to get a solar assessment on a roof, you have to call up the solar installer, they bring their ladder, a guy wanders around on your roof, and two or three weeks later, you get a report,” Herrmann said.
