Google Earth now mapping sites for renewable energy developers

A new mapping tool on Google Earth shows renewable power developers where they can — and can’t — build.

With grants from Google’s philanthropic wing, the National Audubon Society and the Natural Resources Defense Council pulled together maps of endangered species habitats, national parks and other forms of protected land and loaded all that data into Google Earth.
Zoom in on the Mojave Desert, a favorite spot for solar power projects, and you can see every bit of land that is off-limits to developers. The no-go zones appear as brightly colored shapes superimposed on maps and aerial photographs. The new tool, called the Path to Green Energy, went live Wednesday, and anyone can use it.

Solar and wind companies want to avoid fights that could slow down their projects, said Johanna Wald, senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “They kept asking me, ‘Please tell me where I shouldn’t go,’ ” she said. “They understand it doesn’t make good business sense to go someplace that’s going to generate a lot of controversy.”

Wald and her colleagues don’t want the mapping tool to turn into a roadblock for renewable power. Instead, they say, it illustrates that conservation and clean energy can coexist. It also will help electric utilities and government regulators plan new power lines.

Statesman