WORLDTECHColorado students joined a Google hackathon to tackle energy grid challenges.
What happened
From mitigating wildfire risks to tackling energy backlogs, events like these demonstrate how collaboration between students, public leaders, and technologists can drive meaningful change for Colorado. Students at the Google Colorado Impact Hackathon built AI tools like SolarSnap to modernize the energy grid. Google is an Internet and software company based in Mountain View, and its products and services include Software tools.
The winning projects addressed this head on: First place: SolarSnap , an AI app that helps homeowners find the ideal setup for solar panels using their phone’s camera Second place: Grid Watch , an AI-managed battery network designed to keep power on during wildfire shutoffs while reducing electricity costs. Third place: Grid Guard , providing predictive capabilities for targeted grid hardening At the event, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and CU Boulder Vice Chancellor for Sustainability Andrew Mayock highlighted the importance of bold innovation to shape Colorado’s clean energy future.
The students from the winning team, SolarSnap, with their Google Guide Sarah Bonnet. Students get to experience being a Googler for a day by hacking away at hard problems. Andrew Mayock, Vice Chancellor of Sustainability at CU Boulder, kicked off the day with an inspiring opening keynote.