Evaluating locations for potential renewable energy projects might be getting a little bit more convenient, at least on the surface, thanks to the release of a mobile version of the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) Global Atlas, which aims to put reliable datasets and expertise in the palm of your hand.
The original Global Atlas is designed to help narrow the gap between nations on evaluating renewable energy resources, by making public more than 1000 datasets and a variety of maps, which can help local energy agencies identify areas of interest for further clean energy assessments. The initiative currently has 67 nations, and more than 50 partners, contributing to it, with the aim of eventually providing worldwide coverage for all renewable energy resources.
The new IRENA Global Atlas Pocket app takes that a step further, by moving it from the desktop to the smartphone, and putting that renewable energy data at the tip of your fingers, so to speak. The free application could be a handy mobile tool for people in a variety of roles, from developer to engineer to investor, to identify and do an initial evaluation of potential renewable energy project sites.
“The Global Atlas facilitates a first screening for areas of opportunity where further assessments can be of particular relevance. It enables the user to overlay information listed in a catalogue of more than 1,000 datasets, and to identify areas of interest for further prospection. IRENA is continuously adding information to the system.”
As an additional incentive for downloading and putting the new Global Atlas Pocket to work, IRENA is hosting a Twitter giveaway of a Crosskase solar charging backpack for those who use it and share a map with their social media audience.
The new app is available for iOS, Android, Windows phone, and Blackberry.
Source: CleanTechnica. Reproduced with permission.
