NYC to Create 3D Solar Map for Homeowners
Soon, New York City residents will be able to easily asses their home’s solar energy potential using a detailed solar map currently under construction by city officials. Following in the footsteps of cities like San Francisco and Boston, the city is creating the online tool to make the decision to go solar easier for residents, and to better understand the city’s overall potential for solar power.
For two weeks in April, reports the New York Times, dual-engine Shrike Commander aircraft performed low early-morning flyovers above the Big Apple. Using a laser system known as Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging), the planes gathered detailed, three-dimensional readings of the city’s landscape. Everything from the shape, pitch and size of building roofs were gathered. Each plane’s Lidar laser system works by bouncing laser pulses off structures and terrain, calculating the lay of the land by measuring how fast it takes each pulse to bounce back, much like sonar sound pulses bounce off objects underwater.
How Does the Program Work?
NYC residents can simply enter their address into an online program set up using solar map data. The project is part of Mayor Bloomberg’s larger plan for greening the city and preparing for the effects of Climate Change on the coastal city. It was funded in part with $205,470 from the Department of Energy.
Use for data recovered by the 3D laser-mapping is not limited to measuring solar potential. It will also be used to update flood maps, identify wetlands and neighborhoods in need of trees, as well as census-like data, such as how many flat and pitched roofs are in the city. The overall picture that will result will be unprecedented in New York City, and should help craft more detailed and accurate plans for the city’s new future. Utilities will also be able to use the solar data to understand how much solar power they can ween from rooftops. The images will help officials figure out exactly how much solar power is already being created.
It is estimated that New York City could get one-fifth of its power from solar energy. The upcoming solar map should facilitate a more confident and exact estimate. Both the solar and flood maps are expected to be complete by the end of 2010.
Photo Credit: NYT & Google Maps
Posted on May 11th in Solar Research by Dan.