by jbs031610 b3 — March 19, 2010—The Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has launched an interactive, comprehensive Web site covering all aspects of the photovoltaic (PV) market. Interactive maps and charts provide information on where PV panels are being installed and by whom, how big they are, how much they cost, and how fast the industry is growing.
NREL geographers Chris Helm and Ted Quinby, creators of the Open PV database, say they are building a community of users who are willing to share information about PV installations. They are accepting data uploads from utility companies, local and state governments and the public.
So far, Open PV has catalogued more than 64,000 systems with a total capacity of about 733 megawatts, including 50,000 PV installations in California, 3,192 in New Jersey, and 1,500 in Massachusetts. The organizers say the site is “starting to snowball” as more people and organizations are finding out about the site and offering their data.
The two largest solar trade groups, the Solar Energy Industries Association and the Solar Electric Power Association, are fans of the Open PV project and are encouraging their members to use the maps and graphs as tools to grow their businesses.
The organizers hope to create other open data bases for wind, solar, hot water and geothermal installations as well.
