NITI Aayog has recently launched a comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS)-based Geospatial Energy Map of India in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with the support of Energy Ministries.
• It provides a holistic picture of all energy resources of the country.
• It enables visualisation of energy installations such as conventional power plants, oil and gas wells, petroleum refineries, coal fields and coal blocks, district-wise data on renewable energy power plants and renewable energy resource potential through 27 thematic layers.
What is Geospatial Mapping?
It is a type of spatial analysis technique that typically employs software capable of rendering maps, processing spatial data, and applying analytical methods to terrestrial or geographic datasets, including the use of geographic information systems.
What is its significance?
As stated by Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog “Energy markets have immense potential to bring in efficiency gains. Going forward, GIS-based mapping of energy assets will be advantageous to all concerned stakeholders and will help in accelerating the policy-making process. Fragmented data has been brought together; this will be a great research instrument.”
- Identifying Sources of Energy – It will help to identify and locate all primary and secondary sources of energy. It will provide a comprehensive view of energy production and distribution in a country.
- Integration of Scattered Data – It will integrate all the available energy data that is scattered across multiple organizations, and will consolidate it to a visually appealing graphical manner.
- Advanced Technology – It will help to make the GIS-Technology more interactive and user friendly.
- Better Investment Decisions – It will help in the planning and making of the investment decisions of the country. It will also aid in disaster management using available energy assets.
Source: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1764738 , https://www.saurenergy.com/solar-energy-news/niti-aayog-isro-partner-to-give-geospatial-energy-map-of-india