California, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] CH2M HILL has completed Berkeley’s Solar Mapping Portal, enabling residents and business owners to estimate the solar potential of their rooftops and view existing solar installations. CH2M HILL worked with Berkeley’s Office of Energy and Sustainable Development (ESD) to identify all of the solar installations in the city and utilized its S.A.F.E. technology to map Berkeley rooftops for their solar energy potential.
Residents and business owners in Berkeley can now log on, view their rooftops, calculate the available square footage for panels, get an estimated size of a photovoltaic (PV) system that would fit their rooftop, obtain detailed information on tax rebates and choose from a listing of available installers. The CH2M HILL solar map reflects elements such as rooftop structures, the slant of the roof, shading from obstructions and takes into account the azimuth of the sun for PV panel placement.
The Berkeley FIRST program, a solar finance program that assists Berkeley residents in tackling the financial hurdles of installing solar panels, is the city’s flagship solar energy program. It provides property owners an opportunity to borrow money from the City’s Sustainable Energy Financing District to install solar photovoltaic electric systems and repay the financing through property tax bills.
