Estimating Solar Power Using Google Earth

Whenever I introduce Google Earth to teachers, I like to point out that it can be used for far more than just Social Studies lessons. A new KMZ file (link will launch Google Earth) from the University of California - San Diego illustrates that point well.

The California Solar Irradiance Map is a Google Earth file that illustrates how much solar energy could be generated in one year from a horizontally oriented solar panel. The file can be used to see how much energy could be generated from the entire state. The file also includes thousands of individual data points showing how much energy could come from each individual place. Turn on the "placemark data" layer to view individual points.

H/T to the Google Earth Blog.