A presentation by Nicolas Fichaux at the IRENA GCC workshop. The workshop took place in June, 2013 and was hosted by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research.

1. Global Atlas: Status and
Perspectives
N. Fichaux, IRENA

2. ABOUT IRENA
GLOBAL ATLAS: CONTEXT
WHAT IS THE GLOBAL ATLAS?
2

3. ABOUT IRENA
3

4. Membership
IRENA Innovation and Technology Centre
(IITC), Bonn, Germany
Status of Permanent Observer to
the United Nations in New York
Headquarters in Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates
45 Signatories/ States in Accession
115 Member States + European Union
as of Juney 2013
 Established in 2011
 Approaching universal membership
© IRENA 2013 4
China to join IRENA
 Decision announced at
3rd Assembly, 13 Jan 2013

5. Mission, Vision and Mandate
Mission: Promote the widespread and sustainable use
of renewable energy worldwide
How: Serve as centre of excellence, advisory resource,
and network hub for renewable energy
Scope: All renewable energy sources
Bioenergy Geothermal Hydropower Ocean Solar Wind
Energy Energy Energy Energy
© IRENA 2013 5

6. IRENA 3rd Assembly
 Around 1000 registered participants
 137 countries represented
 Over 80 Heads of State/Government
or Ministers
 Adopted 2013 Work Programme and
Medium-Term Strategy
 Coincided with Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week13-14 January 2013, Abu Dhabi, UAE
© IRENA 2013 6

7. Medium-Term Strategy
CENTRE OF
EXCELLENCE
HUB
 Advocacy and information
dissemination
 Global, universal, unbiased
 Outreach and
awareness raising
 Costing Alliance
 Global Atlas
 GREIN
 Regional approaches
 Renewables Readiness
Assessment
 Capacity building
 IRELP
 Policies and Measures
Database
© IRENA 2013 7
Global Voice
for Renewable
Energy
RESOURCE

8. 2013 and Beyond
IRENA Structure and Work Programme 2013
Country Support and Partnerships
Knowledge, Policy and Finance Centre
IRENA Innovation and Technology Centre
GlobalCountrySupport
Networks
Input, Tools, Support Feedback
Roadmaps ,Technology Solutions, Scenarios and Strategies, Cost and Performance,
Facilitation of Markets, RE Standardisation, Innovation/IP/R&D
Data Collection and Analysis, Indicators, Global Atlas and Resource Assessment,
Institutional Publication, Policy Development, RE Finance, Socio-Economic Value,
Financing, Environmental Impact, Stakeholder Engagement
RRA, National Strategies, Regional Collaboration, Partnerships and Technical Cooperation,
Capacity Needs Assessment, Regional Capacity Building, Country-Based Collaboration,
Global Education and Training Database
© IRENA 2013 8

9. GLOBAL ATLAS: CONTEXT
9

10. 10
Albania, Australia, Belgium, Denmark,
Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Gambia,
Germany, Grenada, Honduras, India, Iraq,
Israel, Kuwait, Lithuania, Mali, Mexico,
Mongolia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria,
Norway, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Spain,
Swaziland, Switzerland, Tunisia, UAE,
Uganda, UK, Uruguay, USA, Yemen.

11. 11

12. Global Atlas
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What share of my energy mix can
be supplied by renewable energy?
Where are the resources located?
What is the most cost-effective
combination of technologies?
What amount of investments does it
represent? How many jobs ?
Is there a large enough market for
sustaining a supply chain?

13. Bridge the gap between nations having access to the
necessary funding, technologies, and expertise to evaluate
their national potentials, and those deprived of those
elements.
 Access to data and methods
 Access to training materials and courses
 Access to finance
 Access to a network of experts
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14. 14
201320142015

15. 15
Global Renewable Energy Atlas
Steering Committee
Secretariat and coordination
IRENA
Solar and Wind Technical Group
CEM, 2010
Bioenergy Technical Group
GBEP, 2013
Geothermal Technical Group
2013
Hydropower Technical Group
2013
Marine Energies Technical Group
2014
End-user network
2012

16. How is the work organized?
• The Steering Committee meets during the IRENA Assembly. Intermediate meetings
are organized at IRENA Councils and other ministerial events – CEM, GBEP.
• The Secretariat is made of a team of 3 persons in IRENA Abu Dhabi.
• The working groups meet twice a year, during expert meetings or workshops . Experts
are designated by the participating countries, and invited by the Secretariat.
• The end-user group is constantly keep informed of the developments – newsletter,
website, and can contact the Secretariat at any time. The end-user network meets
once a year in Abu Dhabi WFES.
• Additional ad hoc task forces are created for a temporary issue – ex data quality for
solar and wind, capacity building for solar and wind.
• Participation is voluntary. Financing is shared between country contributions and
IRENA’s core budget.
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17. WHAT IS THE GLOBAL ATLAS?
17

18. Bridge the gap between nations having access to the
necessary funding, technologies, and expertise to evaluate
their national potentials, and those deprived of those
elements.
 Access to data and methods
 Access to training materials and courses
 Access to finance
 Access to a network of experts
18

19. 19

20. Part I - Data Infrastructure and Sharing
20
WHAT IS THE GLOBAL ATLAS?

21. Existing application – maps.nrel.gov/SWERA
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FAO BEFS for Tanzania
Example of data integration from data to the Atlas
Existing application – http://www.solar-med-
atlas.org/
Mali solar and wind

22. Step1: registering the data on a geoserver
22

23. Step 2: Remote registration to the catalog
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24. Full description, ownership and references are preserved
24

25. Consequence 1: Data appear in Atlas interface library
25

26. Consequence 2: larger data dissemination
26

27. Consequence 3: WMS can be used by third parties, other
projects and initiatives
27

28. 28
FAO Geocatalogue
(simulation)
GeoSur (simulation)
Consequence 4:
linking data networks

29. 29
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver
Geoserver

30. Intellectual property?
• If the data has IP restrictions – signature of a data
sharing agreement with IRENA
• IP remains with the data owner
• Data sharing and download can be limited on demand
• Service can be modified or stopped from data owner’s
end
• The catalog can handle private and public data
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31. Part II - Data visualization and analysis
31
WHAT IS THE GLOBAL ATLAS?

32. January 2013

33. Vocabulary
33
Map = sum of activated layers
User interface
Layer
Legend and tools

34. 34
Wind speed, population density, protected areas

35. 35
Detailed site information

36. Consequence 1: Data appear in Atlas interface library
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37. Create your own project
37

38. Country map example – can be project based
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39. Using the interface in your own website
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Data are promoted in an interactive
manner without having to develop
an online GIS.
Just add 1 line:
<iframe style="border: none;"
width="512" height="256"
src="http://irena.masdar.ac.ae/?ma
p=299&mode=static"></iframe>
Or <iframe style="border: none;"
width="512" height="256"
src="http://irena.masdar.ac.ae/ifram
e.html?map=299&mode=static"></if
rame>

40. What is the Global Atlas?
• A free, open source, open standards Global Spatial Data Infrastructure
 A global public library of renewable resource maps – 300 + datasets included
 The information is not copied or duplicated, and existing services are integrated
 Data owners use freely the platform to disseminate and reference their own datasets
 Depending on the IP restrictions, the links can be used by the Atlas online GIS, the
data owners and their project partners, and the general public
• The GIS interface is online and freely accessible. Basic users can access information and
perform basic analyses.
• ‘Advanced’ users can create their own online project maps, embed those in their
webportal, and use the online tools on their own datasets.
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41. Ongoing work and next steps
• Integration of Countries’ solar and wind data – display, point
data
• Additional datasets coming online – DTU, CENER, NASA, others
• Significant improvements to the Atlas GIS
• Capacity Building for the Atlas
• Roadmap for Geothermal energy
• Roadmap for Bioenergy
• Hydropower?
• Technical Assistance
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