Carbon emissions from big power plants to be quantified

London  :  Carbon Tracker on Monday announced a new project to quantify carbon emissions from large power plants across the globe using satellite imagery and make this information available to the public.

The financial think-tank was selected for the project, funded by a $1.7 million grant from Google.org, through the Google AI Impact Challenge.

It will collaborate with WattTime and WRI to use data and hold polluting plants accountable to environmental standards and enable advanced new emissions reduction technologies.

"Carbon Tracker is the first organisation to pioneer satellite-based power plant monitoring. We are excited to continue this innovative analysis in collaboration with our colleagues at WattTime and WRI," said Matt Gray, head of power and utilities at Carbon Tracker.

The project will work by leveraging the growing global satellite network to observe power plants from space.

AI will use the latest image processing algorithms to detect signs of power plant emissions. For the accuracy, the project will combine data from sensors operating at different wavelengths.

WattTime, a San Francisco-based non-profit organisation, has pioneered solutions like automated emissions reduction techniques, which leverage past, present and forecasted power grid emissions data and machine learning algorithms to allow smart devices to adjust the timing of their energy use to sync with clean energy and avoid dirty energy.

The World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research organisation working in India too to secure a more sustainable future, maintains the most comprehensive global database of existing power plants.

"The more transparency we can provide for energy consumers around the world, the more likely we are to solve some of the monumental challenges facing our planet," said Johannes Friedrich, a senior associate at WRI.