Web-mapping of solar energy potential in Yakutia

Abstract

It is cost effective and environmentally rational to develop renewable energy source in sthe territories of decentralized energy supply, since it allows replacing diesel power generation. Yakutia has a high potential for the development of solar energy and 64 % of its area is in the zone of decentralized energy supply. The features of web mapping—interactivity, multiscale and availability—are useful for assessment of big multi-temporal data on solar resources at the regional scale. Web mapping shows one parameter for Yakutia—all sky insolation incident on a horizontal surface per day per square meter. The parameter is used to assess the potential of solar energy resources in the territory. Initial data comes from the Surface meteorology and Solar Energy archive of the NASA Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource—SSE NASA POWER project. It includes monthly and annual average global grids for each year from 1984 to 2018. The web application allows users to map the data by grid points, by administrative units and by watersheds. Users can interactively set a period with an accuracy of a month and a territorial division for drawing up a map. The web-based mapping application allows users to create about 50,000 web maps in total. The number based on query combinations available to the user. A large amount of data used for web mapping requires the development of an information system for the dynamic delivery of data at the user’s request. Data preprocessing algorithm helps efficiently aggregate data “on-the-fly” for various territorial units. The DeckGL cartographic library gives high-performance visualization of big spatial data in the browser. We use PostgreSQL and Flask software to develop the information system. Web mapping is useful for the assessment of solar energy resources specifically at the regional level. Interactive tools provided by the web-based mapping applications deepen the analytical content of the cartographic work. There are notable changes in the data preparation through the design of web-based mapping applications in comparison with regular maps.