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)