CHAPTER 2
Solar Power Opportunities with GIS Tech
GIS mapping tools allow Boston, Massachusetts, residents to see their home’s rooftop solar potential, while a powerful GIS atlas helps governments plan long-term sustainability goals.
Many industries and organizations realize the benefits of GIS for renewable energy projects. Even states and cities are employing GIS technology to harness sustainable, natural resources. In 2007, Boston’s mayor issued an executive order around climate change that kicked off Solar Boston, a two-year initiative meant to expand the use of solar power across the city. To meet the executive order’s goal of decreasing municipal greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, the city is using GIS software to map out potential locations for solar power and monitor current solar installations.
17% of U.S. electricity generated in 2017 came from renewable energy sources.1
At the 2017 World Future Energy Summit, the World Bank and the International Solar Alliance (ISA) unveiled a free, web-based tool called the Global Solar Atlas. The Atlas is designed to help governments and investors identify potential areas for solar power generation across the world by providing GIS data and high-resolution maps for analysis. While still in its infancy, the Atlas is expected to help drive the shift to more sustainable forms of energy over the next 10 years.
