Renewable Energy
Atlas of the West
-
The Renewable Energy Atlas of the West is designed as a resource for policy makers, advocates, landowners, developers and others interested in furthering the production of electricity from renewable wind, solar, geothermal and biomass energy
resources - www.energyatlas.org.
Wind,
Solar Photovoltaic, Collocated Geothermal, Concentrating Solar
Power, and Biomass (US
Department of Energy, NREL; map descriptions courtesy Tom Acker)
|
Solar
Photovoltaic Resource - The solar photovoltaic resource
maps provides average daily total solar resource information
on grid cells of approximately 40 km by 40 km in size. The
insolation values represent the resource available to a
flat-plate collector, such as a photovoltaic panel, oriented
due south at an angle from horizontal equal to the latitude of
the collector location. |
|
|
Concentrating
Solar Power Resource - The concentrating solar power
resource maps provide monthly average daily total solar
resource information on grid cells of approximately 40 km by
40 km in size. The insolation values represent the resource
available to concentrating systems that track the sun
throughout the day. Such systems include concentrating solar
power systems such as trough collectors or dishes.
Because the resource data are for a tracking system, the
available resource tends to be higher than for non-tracking
systems in sunny areas, but lower in cloudy areas, because
under cloudy conditions tracking systems are unable to use any
of the solar resource, which is obscured, whereas flat-plate
collectors can still make use of the available sky radiation.
Higher resolution of images - PDF
- .jpg
More
concentrating solar power maps here.
|
|
|
Biomass
Resources - The biomass resource maps show county-level
estimates of biomass resources available for biofuels
production or biomass power stations. The map includes only
the resources available from crop and forest residues. They do
not include managed crop or forest resources, urban residues,
municipal solid waste (MSW), or landfill gas (LFG). |
|
|
Wind
Resources (AZ and United States) |
|
|
|
Collocated
Geothermal |
|
|
US
Solar Radiation Map
This map, courtesy of the
National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), shows the average daily solar
radiation (in Watt-hours per square inch) that falls on the United
States. Click here to view
map... |
|
|