A Tool for Estimating Rooftop Solar Potential

On Friday, June 5th Master of Engineering and Management students Maria Paz Muramatsu, Prajwal Prasad, and Aishwarya Shankar presented a web-based tool for estimating the overall capacity and feasibility of rooftop solar for individual Hanover homes. 

This tool was developed during the spring ’26 term for the Thayer School’s Data Analytics Project Lab 204 course taught by Trent Staats, Associate Professor of Engineering, and Reed Harder, Lecturer. The purpose of this course is to provide a background on how data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence create value for organizations. Students used a variety of data sources to develop this tool, including a Google Maps platform and town geographic data provided by Peter Kulbacki, Hanover’s Director of Public Works.

Co-Chair Judi Colla served as liaison to Sustainable Hanover for this project. She reached out to long term and reputable Upper Valley solar installer Kim Quirk, a Thayer graduate and respectable solar professional.  who generously provided expertise in the design and validation of this tool. 

This nifty resource will likely be available for a new solarize program in Hanover anticipated to launch in late 2026 or early 2027. It also has the potential to be used by other towns in the Upper Valley and beyond.

Sustainable Hanover thanks Maria, Prajwal, and Aishwarya for their fantastic work and wishes them every success going forward! Well done, team!