IRENA Launches Upgraded Global Atlas for Renewable Energy

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has launched a new version of the Global Atlas for Renewable Energy, the online renewable energy mapping platform, which now allows users to download resource data for offline analysis, and to print and export map images.

A map of Belgian offshore wind farms. Source: IRENA

The enhancements include an online GIS interface, datasets for five renewable energy technologies that cover every country in the world, online analysis tools, and the ability to export data and maps in several different formats.

The Global Atlas provides access to more than 2,000 datasets for free, but previously users could only view this data graphically on a map, or get a numerical value for a single point.

Now users can also download the raw data in selected datasets for further analysis and use.

The data download feature is available in geographical blocks of 4 MB, and provides a GeoTIFF file which users can upload to their own GIS systems to conduct further analysis.