Using AI and satellite imagery, the Global
Renewables Watch maps renewable energy installations from
space
NEW
YORK, Sept. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/
-- Microsoft Corp., Planet Labs PBC and The Nature Conservancy
on Thursday announced its plans to launch the Global Renewables
Watch (GRW), a first-of-its-kind living atlas intended to map and
measure all utility-scale solar and wind installations on Earth
using artificial intelligence (AI) and satellite imagery, allowing
users to evaluate clean energy transition progress and track trends
over time.
With initial mapping of solar and wind energy installations in
Germany and India, as well as solar installations in
Brazil and Egypt completed, the GRW is being built to
serve as a publicly available renewable energy atlas with
country-by-country insights into production progress and
development trends. With access to satellite data dating back to
2018, and plans to update the atlas twice annually, the GRW aims to
show countries' renewable energy capacity, assist in understanding
that capacity, and recognize patterns about the potential impact of
the renewable energy siting on the landscape over time rather than
as a moment in time.
The first full global inventory is expected to be completed by
early 2023, at which point the results will undergo both scientific
and technical validation. For this joint program, Microsoft is
providing the AI and platform technology, Planet is contributing
the underlying satellite imagery, and The Nature Conservancy is
overlaying the subject-matter expertise to analyze the output.
The announcement comes as New York
City hosts international public- and private-sector leaders
for the opening of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly and
the 14th annual Climate Week NYC.
"The theme for Climate Week NYC this year is 'getting it done,'
and to do that, we need to move from pledges to progress," said The
Nature Conservancy's CEO Jennifer
Morris. "Global Renewables Watch, which is a result of
collaboration between Microsoft, The Nature Conservancy and Planet,
is exactly the kind of action we need to see. This will be a
publicly accessible resource to help researchers and policymakers
understand current capacities and gaps so that decision-makers can
scale much-needed renewable energy resources in a responsible,
nature-friendly way."
Current methods for tracking solar and wind energy projects
globally are an immensely complex undertaking, cutting across
countless jurisdictions and with much of the data held by private
organizations. The GRW aims to provide this data by coupling AI
with high-resolution satellite imagery and presenting it in a
dynamically updated time series.
"Each of the partners brings unique knowledge and value-add to
this initiative," said Planet's Co-Founder and CEO Will Marshall. "You can't manage what you can't
measure, so by combining Microsoft's AI and cloud computing
capabilities, Planet's comprehensive and high-resolution satellite
imagery, and The Nature Conservancy's deep subject-matter
expertise, we hope to build a powerful platform for surfacing — and
democratizing access to — renewable energy
data."
The partners will continue to map additional countries and are
aiming to build awareness of the tool among those tasked with
managing the world's clean energy transition in the weeks leading
up to and during the United Nations Climate Change Conference,
COP27, taking place in Sharm
El-Sheik, Egypt, Nov. 6-18, 2022.
"The world needs access to data in order to make responsible
environmental decisions, and the Global Renewables Watch will serve
as a critical tool for understanding humanity's progress toward
fulfilling the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and meeting the
United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 to ensure
access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for
all," said Microsoft VP and Chief Data Scientist Juan Lavista Ferres.
The GRW will make its data and findings available at
GlobalRenewablesWatch.org for integration into wider
analyses.
About Planet
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL) is a leading provider of global,
daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions. Planet is driven
by a mission to image the world every day, and make change visible,
accessible and actionable. Founded in 2010 by three NASA
scientists, Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest Earth
observation fleet of imaging satellites, capturing over 30 TB of
data per day. Planet provides mission-critical data, advanced
insights, and software solutions to over 800 customers, comprising
the world's leading agriculture, forestry, intelligence, education
and finance companies and government agencies, enabling users to
simply and effectively derive unique value from satellite imagery.
Planet is a public benefit corporation trading on the New York
Stock Exchange as PL. To learn more visit www.planet.com and
follow us on Twitter.
About
Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital
transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an
intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every
organization on the planet to achieve more.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/microsoft-planet-and-the-nature-conservancy-launch-the-global-renewables-watch-301630783.html
SOURCE Microsoft Corp.