U.N. Maps Wind, Solar Resources in Developing Countries
Thousands of megawatts of new renewable-energy potential in Africa, Asia, South
and Central America have been discovered by a pioneering project to map the
solar and wind resource of 13 developing countries, according to the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The countries are Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Cuba, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana,
Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sri Lanka.
The multi-million dollar project, called the Solar
and Wind Energy Resource Assessment (SWERA), is proving that the potential
for deploying solar panels and wind turbines in these countries is far greater
than previously supposed. First results from the project were released in
Washington, DC, at an international meeting of scientists and policy-makers
organized by the UNEP, which is coordinating SWERA on behalf of more than 25
institutions around the world.
"In developing countries all over the world we have removed some of the
uncertainty about the size and intensity of the solar and wind resource,"
said Klaus Toepfer, UNEP’s executive director. "These countries need
greatly expanded energy services to help in the fight against poverty and to
power sustainable development. SWERA offers them the technical and policy
assistance to capture the potential that renewable energy can offer."
Since its beginning in 2001 and with substantial support from the Global
Environment Facility (GEF), the US$9.3 million SWERA project has been developing
a range of new information tools to stimulate renewable-energy development,
including detailed maps of wind and solar resources. SWERA’s aim is to support
informed decision-making, develop energy policy based on science and technology,
and increase investor confidence in renewable-energy projects.
SWERA’s data collection and analysis network of international and national
agencies is also creating a global archive of solar and wind energy resources
and maps that is available on CD or via SWERA's web site. Another important
SWERA tool, the Geospatial Toolkit, allows wind and solar maps to be combined
with electrical distribution grids and other information to provide high-quality
information that supports energy planning and policy development, while lowering
the risk for renewable-energy project developers and reducing project lead
times.
(Source: U.N. Environment Programme news release, 4/14/05)