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Regional Energy Profiles: Renewable Potential Maps
SOURCES OF
RENEWABLE
POTENTIAL
DATA
Clean City Programs
Description: Members of the U.S. DOE Clean Cities Program, a voluntary, local, government-industry partnership to expand the use of alternative fuel vehicles and refueling infrastructure.
Selection Criteria: Members of the Clean Cities Program that can be clearly associated with a city. For information on other members of the Clean Cities Program, see the Source below.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Transportation Technologies, Clean Cities Programs, August 2001;
http://www.ccities.doe.gov.
Counties and States
Description: All U.S. counties and States.
Source: Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. (ESRI), ArcView 2.1b standard data;
http://www.esri.com (800-447-9778).
Fuelwood Harvested
Selection Criteria: Counties in which fuelwood harvested in 1996 was more than 3 million cubic feet (23,437.5 cords).
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis: Timber Product Output (TPO) Database Retrieval System, October 2001;
http://66.147.25.28/rpa/html/rpatpo.htm.
Geothermal Energy Potential (Surface Heat Flow)
Selection Criteria: Areas with geothermal energy suitable for generating electricity.
Sources: Contiguous United States:
U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, October 2001,
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/renewable.energy.annual/backgrnd/fig17.htm;
Alaska: State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, Geological and Geophysical Surveys, January 28, 2002,
http://dggs.dnr.state.ak.us/Scanpages/mp.htm, MP08-SH01;
Hawaii: State of Hawaii, Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, Energy Resources and Technology Division, and U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, January 16, 2002.
Precipitation, Average Annual
Description: State-wide precipitation normals for 1961-1990 (State areally weighted precipitation in inches).
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, State, Regional, and National Monthly and Annual Precipitation, Historical Climatology Series 4-2, July 1993, p. 72.
Rivers
Description: Major rivers.
Source:Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. (ESRI), ArcView 2.1b standard data;
http://www.esri.com (800-447-9778).
Solar Energy Potential (Solar Radiation)
Description: Monthly average daily total solar 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, ranging from zero to above 8 kilowatthours per square meter per day.
Sources:
Contiguous United States: U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, April 2000, GIS data file "148PV.zip"
http://www.nrel.gov/gis/index_of_gis.html;
Alaska and Hawaii: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EREN), January 4, 2002,
http://www.eren.doe.gov/state_energy/tech_solar.cfm?state=AK
and
http://www.eren.doe.gov/state_energy/tech_solar.cfm?state=HI.
State Capitals
Description: All U.S. State capitals.
Source: MapInfo Corporation, One Global View, Troy, NY 12180, MapInfo 4.1.2, July 1999;
http://www.mapinfo.com (518-285-6000).
Wind Energy Potential (Wind Resources)
Selection Criteria: Areas with wind resources of Wind Power Class 4 or greater, which are suitable for most utility-scale wind turbine applications.
Sources:
Contiguous United States: U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, April 2000, GIS data file "148wind.zip"
http://www.nrel.gov/gis/index_of_gis.html;
Alaska and Hawaii: U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Renewable Laboratory, February 3, 2006, http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/wind_maps.asp.