New Delhi, September 11 (APAC Media): Google has announced five new sustainability initiatives in India spanning climate-smart agriculture, clean energy, climate technology, and circularity.
The initiatives bring together AI, satellite imagery, and climate technologies with partnerships involving farmers, researchers, businesses, and startups.
Solar Insights Expanded to 300 Mn Indian Rooftops
Google’s Solar API, part of its Earth AI initiative, can now generate rooftop solar insights for more than 300 million rooftops across India and over 1.2 billion buildings globally.
The technology enables solar installers to assess a building’s solar potential remotely, reducing the time and cost involved in physical site assessments. Platforms including Solar Ladder and OpenSolar are already integrating Solar API insights to help installers create solar proposals and system designs.
The expansion comes as India accelerates rooftop solar adoption under government-led programmes and incentives.
150 MW Clean Energy Project in Rajasthan
Google is also entering a long-term agreement with ReNew Power for a 150 MW solar generation project in Rajasthan. Google will receive the environmental attributes associated with the clean electricity generated by the project to help address electricity-related emissions across its value chain.
The project marks Google’s second Scope 3-focused solar initiative in India.
Climate-Smart Rice Farming in Telangana
Google is partnering with Mitti Labs to help tens of thousands of smallholder rice farmers adopt Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) practices in Telangana.
The method periodically drains and refloods rice fields instead of maintaining continuous flooding, helping reduce methane emissions while lowering irrigation requirements. Google estimates that, at full implementation, the initiative could conserve billions of gallons of water across regional basins while maintaining crop productivity.
Mitti Labs will use satellite-based verification and its field network to measure outcomes and support participating farmers.
Climate Technology as New Focus Area for Google Centre for Climate Technology
Google is expanding the Google Center for Climate Technology, established with the Government of India’s Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser. Following 77 applications, three inaugural projects have been selected for grants focused on green workforce training and low-carbon construction materials.
The Center will now add water stewardship and waste and circularity as new focus areas, with proposals invited through the Manthan Platform.
Supporting India’s Climate- Tech Startup
Apart from these initiatives, four Indian startups, Terrastack, Varaha Climate, Farmers for Forests and Climitra Carbon, have joined the Google DeepMind Accelerator: AI for the Planet.Â
These startups aim to solve environmental challenges by applying AI, satellite data and other technologies to agriculture, agroforestry, biodiversity restoration, and carbon solutions. With this, Google aims to extend support to the emerging climate- tech startup ecosystem in India.
Together, the initiatives underline Google’s expanding focus on using AI and technology to support India’s transition towards a more sustainable and climate-resilient economy.
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