Other Information
All maps provided by NREL, accessible at http://maps.nrel.gov/.
The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, provides information on more than 200 software tools for energy analysis.
Team Gemini Tools & Resources for Sustainability
Team Gemini actively seeks out tools and resources to foster understanding of topics and address issues related to sustainability.
From the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, and others, organizations throughout the country and world develop and provide innovative tools and resources that aid in a better understanding of issues related to sustainability and renewable energy.
Together with these organizations, Team Gemini is interested in fostering a network of learning, innovation, and opportunities for projects that will provide the foundation for a strong Triple Bottom Line in communities around the world.
To learn more, don’t hesitate to contact us for more information or an opportunity to collaborate.
Educational Resources
Educational Resources from NREL
NREL provides a variety of educational resources to help students, teachers, and parents educate their kids about renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, including hands-on projects and curriculum suggestions for elementary school, middle school, and high school students as well as teachers.
Technology and Performance Analysis
PVWatts
Estimates the electricity production of a grid-connected roof- or ground-mounted photovoltaic system based on a few simple inputs.
The Energy DataBus
Open-source software that collects massive amounts of energy-related data at second-to-second intervals.
Building Life-Cycle Cost (BLCC)
Analyze capital investments in buildings. Includes the Energy Escalation Rate Calculator 2.0-13.
EnergyPlus Simulation Program
Helps building designers and owners save money, reduce energy use, and improve indoor air quality.
Geothermal Prospector
Designed to provide easy access to geothermal resource datasets and other data relevant to utility-scale geothermal power projects.
Bioenergy Sustainability Analysis
NREL’s bioenergy sustainability analysis group works with researchers around the world through global multilateral collaborations to assess bioenergy and bioeconomy developments in multiple scientific and social fields.
The world of biomass is complex and biomass resources vary around the world. We study the relationship of land types and their use in agricultural and forestry systems and in manufacturing. Products from these interconnected systems are consumed and generate waste and residues that are landfilled, with or without energy recovery, re-used in a cascade of uses, recycled into the same or different products, or used to produce energy.
We use statistical data that multiple government agencies from each country provide to the United Nations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (collects data on food, feed, forestry, inputs, and emissions), the Framework Convention on Climate Change (inventories greenhouse gases per the Kyoto Protocol), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development International Energy Agency (collects data on energy production and use in various sectors of the economy).
Biomass and bioenergy systems produce benefits and also impacts to air, water, and land locally, regionally, and globally, and many of them are diffuse. It is difficult to assign these impacts to bioenergy alone since these applications are part of agriculture, forestry, and management of rural and urban residues and wastes. Bioenergy applications include biomass for heating and cooking, electricity generation, and for combined heat/electricity in the power and pulp and paper industries, or in the production of liquid or gaseous fuels for transport or other large numbers of chemicals, materials, and special products currently made from fossil energy. The evolving bioeconomy aims to close these cycles of interconnected systems to optimize multiple economic, environmental, ecological, and social (e.g., jobs) of multiple resource use.
The system of agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) was the only International Project of Climate Change (IPCC) sector whose greenhouse gas emissions decreased in the last decade according to the 5th Assessment Report of the IPCC. AFOLU emissions are the most difficult to quantify and have the highest uncertainties. The conservation of agricultural soils and afforestation have the potential to increase soil carbon sequestration and therefore further mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We are looking at what role bioenergy, including biochar, can play in climate change mitigation at a large scale since bioenergy coupled with carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) could provide negative emissions needed to reach levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere compatible with 2oC or less from pre-industrial levels. The role of biomass in electricity generation or fuels production using gasification technologies followed by CCS is illustrated below. Coal and natural gas can reduce emissions with CCS but sustainably produced biomass is necessary to sequester carbon dioxide quickly to offset fossil emissions. Research questions involve the sustainability of the overall systems.
Annual Technology Baseline and Standard Scenarios
Annual Technology Baseline and Standard Scenarios
NREL annually documents a realistic and timely set of input assumptions (e.g., technology cost, fuel costs), and a diverse set of potential futures (Standard Scenarios) to support and inform electric sector analysis in the United States. The products of this work, including assessments of current and projected technology cost and performance for both renewable and conventional electricity generation technologies, as well as market projections of more than a dozen scenarios produced with NREL’s Regional Energy Deployment Systems (ReEDS) model, are applied consistently in NREL’s analyses throughout the following year. This annual process is supported by the Office of Strategic Programs of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The products described below leverage and synthesize the results of significant background work on individual technologies/market segments funded by specific EERE technology offices.
The Standard Scenario results are presented at the state level in the interactive Standard Scenario Results Viewer
General Interactive Maps
- RE Atlas
Explore basic renewable energy resource data. - MapSearch
Search for static maps related to renewable energy resources. - MHK Atlas
Explore marine and hydrokinetic energy resources. - FEMP Screening Map
Explore the market potential for various solar technologies.
Solar Power Maps
- The Solar Power Prospector
- Find sites for developing utility-scale solar.
- PVDAQ
- Study solar array efficiency.
- Global RE Opportunity
- Perform technical and economic analysis for a variety of solar technologies.
Transportation Maps
- TransAtlas
- Explore alternative fuel stations and production facilities.
Biomass Maps
- BioFuels Atlas
- See where biomass feedstocks can be used for biofuels production.
- BioPower Atlas
- See where biomass feedstocks can be used for power production.
Geothermal Maps
- The Geothermal Prospector (beta)
- Find sites for developing large-scale geothermal plants.
Hydrogen Maps
- HyDRA
- Analyze hydrogen demand, resources, infastructure, and cost.
Wind Maps
- Wind Prospector
- A tool to measure wind energy.
Clean Energy Resources
The following resources can assist you in measuring your environmental impact.
Individuals and Household Calculators
Household Carbon Footprint Calculator
Do you know what your carbon footprint is? Try EPA’s Household Carbon Footprint Calculator to estimate your annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Transportation Tools
Measuring Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transportation
This page provides information about measuring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation and the contribution of transportation sources to total emissions of greenhouse gases.
Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program
EJSCREEN
EJSCREEN uses high resolution maps combined with demographic and environmental data to highlight places that may have higher environmental burdens and vulnerable populations.
EJSCREEN combines environmental and demographic information into “EJ indexes,” giving the user a way to measure impacts to better understand areas in need of environmental protection, health care access, housing, infrastructure improvement, community revitalization, and climate resilience.
Other Information
Tools and resources are administered, maintained, and provided by the EPA and other entities. More information can be found at http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/index.html.
How Much Do You Spend?
How Much Energy Do You Consume?
How Does Your State Rank?
Other Information
The Department of Energy maintains an assortment of maps and tools at http://energy.gov/maps.
More data and tool applications can be found at the Open Energy Data section of the Department of Energy, found at http://energy.gov/data/open-energy-data.
For a library of applications for web, desktop, and mobile platforms, visit http://en.openei.org/apps/.
Renewables Global Status Report
Renewables Global Status Report
First released in 2005, REN21’s Renewables Global Status Report (GSR) provides a comprehensive and timely overview of renewable energy market, industry, investment and policy developments worldwide.
Renewables Global Futures Report
Renewables Global Futures Report
The REN21 Renewables Global Futures Report (GFR) is a pioneering publication that provides access to the range of credible possibilities on the future of renewable energy. The report is based on interviews with over 170 leading experts around the world and the projections of 50 recently published scenarios.
Renewable Interactive Map
The REN21 Renewables Interactive Map is a research tool for tracking the development of renewable energy worldwide. The Map offers a streamlined method for gathering and sharing information on economic development and policy frameworks in the field of renewable energies. The interactive features of the map allow for browsing by country or world region and for searches by RE technology or RE sector.
Other Information
REN21 is the global renewable energy policy multi-stakeholder network that connects a wide range of key actors to facilitate knowledge exchange, policy development and joint action towards a rapid global transition to renewable energy.
For more information about REN21 and its activities, visit http://www.ren21.net/AboutREN21.aspx.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Promotional material
Help spread the word by downloading IYS promotional material. The material is also available in high resolution for printing.
Fact sheets
Take at look at our fact sheets and find out more about the key functions of soils. The fact sheets are also available in high resolution for printing.
Infographics
Check out our infographics and learn more about soils instantly. Share them with just one click to stimulate discussion about soils!
Educational material
Learn more about soils through our educational booklets for children ages 5 to 13. An educator’s guide is also available for teachers.
U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit
U.S. Drought Monitor Report
The U.S. Drought Monitor is produced through a partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
For local details and impacts, please contact your State Climatologist or Regional Climate Center.
How is drought affecting you? Submit drought impact and condition reports via the Drought Impact Reporter.
U.S. Electricity Demand and Supply Balance
Hour by hour, the system constantly compares actual energy production with forecasts for maximum predicted consumption.
Areas on the map producing more electricity than required are coloured orange. Regions where production is falling behind predicted usage appear in blue. By clicking on the production-centre icon, staff can see how many extra megawatts are required to get an under-supplied region back on track.
CAIT Climate Data Explorer
CAIT is one of the most trusted sources of climate data available. It is a free and open source for comprehensive and comparable climate and emissions data. CAIT is made up of a suite of tools that allow users to utilize the data to understand considerations of equity in climate negotiations, see transparency and available information in country climate action commitments, interact with historical emissions data, and dive into the methodologies behind future emissions projections. CAIT allows national governments, international organizations and independent researchers to perform relevant analysis and promote efficient action on climate change.
Wood2Energy Resources Map
Working with Ecostrat and other partners, the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities has developed this comprehensive database of wood to energy conversion facilitates in the United States and Canada.
Ready-for-100 Campaign
The Sierra Club says 16 other cities have made commitments to 100% renewable power (that is, all their electricity consumption within city limits). “Cities are forming high-ambition coalitions to demand cleaner energy choices, while many utilities drag their feet,” says Jodie Van Horn, director of the nonprofit’s Ready for 100 campaign.
Cities have long been the hotbed of innovation, the drivers of change, the incubators of solutions to the world’s biggest challenges. Clean energy is the latest example of how leadership at the local level is pushing the envelope at a critical juncture.
For a variety of reasons and in diverse circumstances, public officials and community leaders see the transition from dirty fossil fuels to clean energy not as an obligation but as an opportunity. Cities powered by 100% clean energy save taxpayer dollars, help their residents save money, create good jobs, and foster a better quality of life. They are catalysts for a new economy and clean energy future.
A Blueprint for a Carbon-Free World
Getting to 100 percent renewable energy seems like such a far away goal at this point in time – which is why Mark Jacobson has a plan.
Mark Jacobson, a Stanford engineering professor, believes the world can eliminate fossil fuels and rely on 100 percent renewable energy. Following up on his state-by-state road map for the United States, he has now released data on plans for how 139 countries could wean themselves from coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear power.
The plan provides an energy breakdown for each country, and the National Geographic graphic shows how that compares to other countries incorporated in the plan.
See also the state-by-state plan for the United States, which shows breakdowns in the same fashion.
Washington Post U.S. Electricity Generation
Mapping U.S. Electricity Generation
Coal and natural gas are the most common sources for electricity in the country, but coal represents a declining share. The new Clean Power Plan seeks to accelerate that trend by requiring power plants to cut carbon pollution levels and rewarding states and companies that embrace clean sources of energy. Story: White House set to adopt sweeping curbs on carbon pollution
Bloomberg Finance Guide for Policy-Makers
As a practical contribution, the Finance Guide provides a factual overview of the landscape of finance – sources of capital, what the capital markets do, how transactions work – and more broadly to set common finance terms in context.
The guide reflects recent changes in market conditions, financing structures and relevant policy debates. Topics covered include:
- How finance generally works;
- What the different parts of the finance sector do;
- What issues financiers consider when investing, including the role of policy and regulation;
- Capital markets and where, for example, ‘green bonds’ fit in;
- The variables affecting finance decisions;
- Energy efficiency – an expanded section, and an update on issues relating to emerging or developing-country markets;
- A practical focus on ‘climate finance’, including finance-sector-led initiatives that are accelerating actions at both the low- and high-carbon end of the spectrum.
To download the full report in pdf, click here.
National Council for Solar Growth
We are a non profit group with a mission to educate homeowners and businesses about the economic and environmental benefits of PV solar. Our primary objective is to influence a greater number of solar panel installations on homes, schools, and businesses across the US and the rest of the world at an accelerating pace.
Other Information
The above is a general collection of resources gathered from a variety of organizations, businesses, individuals, and other stakeholders.
Related Blog Entries
Resources for Sustainability: Utilizing Tools to Assess Residential Energy and Financial Savings
Resources for Sustainability: Exploring NOAA U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit
Resources for Sustainability: Exploring the New REN21 Renewables Global Futures Report
Resources for Sustainability: Exploring the 2017 World Bank Global Energy Architecture Performance Index Report
Resources for Sustainability: Exploring Educational Resources for Students, Teachers, and More
Resources for Sustainability: Exploring EPA’s Water Story Map
Resources for Sustainability: Exploring NREL Standard Scenarios Outlook Data
Resources for Sustainability: Monitoring Drought Conditions in the United States
Resources for Sustainability: Exploring NREL Bioenergy Sustainability Analysis for Viable Initiatives
Resources for Sustainability: Tracking U.S. Energy Supply and Demand
Resources for Sustainability: Renewable Energy Finance Guide for Policy-Makers
Resources for Sustainability: 10 Ready-for-100 Case Studies
Resources for Sustainability: Mapping Database for Wood Bioenergy Industry
Resources for Sustainability: Mapping Coal’s Decline and Renewables’ Rise
Resources for Sustainability: A Blueprint for 100 Percent Renewables
Resources for Sustainability: Highlighting World Soil Resources with the FAO
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Resources for Sustainability: Mapping U.S. Electricity Generation
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