With so many initiatives, programs and debates about renewable energy coming out of Washington, it can be hard to keep track of what it all means for a particular region, state or city. A host of maps are cropping up on websites to help us envision what greening the economy might look like in our neighborhoods.
On the agency front, maps can be used to enhance transparency regarding funding or permitting. The Department of Energy, for example, is mapping the allocation of stimulus funds to states and cities for energy efficiency. According to the New York Times, this program is the first time federal funds have gone directly to cities (all cities of more than 35K can qualify). Click here for an overview of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants – and which cities in Maine have qualified. Similarly, this FERC map helps you investigate projects in a particular region.
Meanwhile, a wide range of organizations are using maps to advocate for a particular project or policy development. Back in February, Midwest ISO released an ambitious proposal (pdf) for a massive transmission system designed to bring Midwestern wind power to eastern load centers. Among the striking aspects of the proposal is the map itself:
The Environmental Defense Fund, for its part, has taken a stab at mapping the “Green Economy” by state. The EDF hopes mapping jobs in specific states – like New Hampshire – will help garner key votes for the carbon cap legislation the EDF supports. The Natural Resources Defense Council, on the other hand, is using maps to try to keep renewable developers and conservationists on the same team. NRDC has partnered with Google Earth to map the controversial locations in the west most in need of protection, which renewables project developers might want to avoid. The impetus for the project was renewable energy developers – seeking to minimize permitting hassles - asking NRDC what sites they should steer clear of.
Of course, the resources themselves are also being mapped. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory offers a wide range of renewable energy resource maps, including the United States Atlas of Renewable Resources, on which you can zoom into a particular region and “layer” on the resources of interest, including biomass, solar, geothermal and wind. There are also maps of particular resources, like the United States Department of Energy’s colorful interactive map of wind resources, nationally and by state.
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