Google’s new partnership takes aim at clean energy in an effort to reduce the amount of carbon emissions that are put out into the air. This isn’t Google’s first foray into developing ways of producing and using clean energy over the majority of current methods for energy production, but thanks to Google’s continued work in the field, its technology advancements, and the new partnership which includes working with the World Resources Institute and various other global research institutions, Google sees it being much more possible to reduce the amount of emissions from energy use.
Reducing the amount of energy emissions and transitioning to more clean energy is no small task, to be sure, but a big part of achieving such a goal is making better decisions that will more positively impact the environment. Google attributes part of its forward momentum to satellite data and its own Google Earth Engine that’s powered by cloud computing. The map below shows a global database of powerplants. Google’s goal by releasing this information in partnership with the other organizations is to standardize the information on the power sector in hopes of convincing companies which provide the power to consumers and residents of the regions where those providers are located to report specific details about the power plants, like where the plants are located and what types of fuel they use.
Google is hoping to work towards decarbonizing the electricity supply as much as possible by making this information available to researchers and scientists, which it hopes will take the data and utilize it to better-understand energy emissions and figure out ways to switch from more carbon-heavy energy fuel to fuel options that are more green and sustainable. Anyone looking to get their hands on this data and use it to gain insight on how to best implement new practices can access the information through two different locations – the Resource Watch website from the World Research Institute, and via Google’s Earth Engine.