DOE launches OpenEI.org – open source platform for clean energy data access
An example of the charts avaioable now at VIBE - the Virtual Information Bridge to Energy - linked from OpenRI.org
In Washington, the US Department of Energy released its Open Government Plan highlighting DOE initiatives to maintain and increase transparency, increase participation between the Department, its program offices, sites and the American public, and increase collaborative efforts between the Department and its stakeholders.
The Three Amigos: OpenEI, data.gov and VIBE
The plan highlights flagship initiatives spearheaded by DOE including the launch of Open Energy Information (OpenEI.org), a new open-source web platform that opens DOE resources and data to the public. The free, editable, and evolving wiki-platform will help to deploy clean energy technologies across the country and the world. OpenEI.org also will provide technical resources, including U.S. lab tools, which can be used by developing countries as they move toward clean energy deployment.
DOE worked with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and other National Laboratories to develop and populate the Open Energy Information Platform. The site currently houses more than 60 clean energy resources and data sets, including maps of worldwide solar and wind potential, information on climate zones, and best practices.
OpenEI.org also links to the Virtual Information Bridge to Energy (VIBE) which is designed as a data analysis hub that will provide a dynamic portal for better understanding energy data. NREL will continue to develop, monitor, and maintain both sites.
A small sample of files available through the National Asset program at Data.gov
Secretary Chu also announced today that the DOE is contributing various tools and data sets for the National Assets program being undertaken by a group of six departments and agencies across the federal government. These agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services; the Agricultural Research Service in the Department of Agriculture; the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the Department of Commerce; the Department of Energy; and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, are working together to spur innovation by making it easier for high-tech companies to identify collaborative, entrepreneurial opportunities.
By making information from multiple agencies available in RSS and XML feeds on Data.gov, the National Assets program will increase access to information on publicly-funded technologies that are available for license, opportunities for federal funding and partnerships, and potential private-sector partners.
What you’ll find, and what you won’t
Visitors to OpenEI will initially be sorely disappointed, as you’ll see virtually no biofuels data on the home page, and you have to dig for it. However, a visit to Vibe and Data.Gov are virtually mandatory – a treasure trove of industry data, very well visualized through “gadget” technology that will bring up multiple charts by clicking on single “tags” organized by topic.
OpenEI is, in the nature of projects, a work in progress — an excellent start to building transparency. Now, if the DOE could not only make its data, but its decision-making process more transparent – that indeed would be a great leap forward.
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Category: Policy, Top Stories
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