3TIER launches new solar map

Renewable energy generation is possible anywhere on the globe, according to Kenneth Westrick, CEO and founder of renewable energy assessment company 3TIER — the key is to select the most efficient renewable source for each location.

To that end, Seattle-based 3TIER launched its solar map of the western hemisphere in October, about six months after releasing its global wind map. The map is the first high-resolution contiguous map of the hemisphere, synthesizing information from a longer time period than other solar maps, resulting in a more accurate site assessment, Westrick says.

Through the online FirstLook Prospecting tool, one can view a site’s average irradiation or purchase a site analysis report that unlocks the “terabytes of data” that Wenrick says are within the map.
   
The solar and wind maps are part of 3TIER’s REmapping the World initiative, which aims to increase the worldwide adoption of renewable energy. Lack of information is the biggest obstacle to implementing clean energy technologies, according to Westrick. The wind and solar maps are intended to provide policy makers, developers, homeowners and financiers a way to quickly assess a site’s renewable energy potential.
   
3TIER, which also offers hydropower assessments, plans to complete a global solar map and explore mapping other energy sources, such as tides and currents, according to Westrick.
   
“I think wave and tidal are going to be huge,”  he says.