San Jose Mercury News: Innovations in online mapping are contributing to the rapid growth of solar energy. The high-tech tools benefit everyone from homeowners and solar-panel installers to the developers and financiers of large-scale power projects, industry experts said at a recent solar conference here. Google Earth allows aerial views of rooftops that help installers prequalify solar-system buyers. Using Google Maps, San Francisco offers residents and businesses a chance to see the city’s solar hot …