Wind power!
Publication Date/Time
2017-11-08T09:00:00+00:00
Open Data for levering energy targets
With the World Climate Conference taking place in Bonn these day, the
question of renewables comes once again to the fore. Renewable energy
is a game changer, as it alters the dependency on fossil fuels and
brings in more sustainability and innovation. The European Union
Renewable Energy Directive
[https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/renewable-energy] sets forth a
binding target of 20% final energy consumption from renewable sources
by 2020. EU countries have already agreed on a new renewable energy
target of at least 27% of final energy consumption in the EU as a
whole by 2030 as part of the EU's energy and climate goals for 2030.
To achieve this, a significant energy transition has been occurring in
the past decade. Besides, energy production based on solar, hydro,
tidal, geothermal and biomass, wind energy is one of Europe's sources
for clean energy. What do Open Data tell us about wind and the energy
it generates?

Some datasets on wind energy inform us on where to find the wind
turbines that contribute to our environmental ambitions. Discover for
instance this Irish interactive map
[https://www.europeandataportal.eu/data/en/dataset/seai-wind-atlas-effects-wind-turbine-on-seascape-5km]
that depicts where to find wind farm across Ireland.
[https://data.europa.eu/sites/default/files/img/media/wind-ireland.png]
This Danish variant
[https://www.europeandataportal.eu/data/en/dataset/vindmollekort]
shows you where wind turbines are located, as well as their energy
capacity, total height and rotor diameter. However, wind turbines are
not effective if there is no wind at all. In other words, where to
find wind? To know everything about this in Switzerland, you can
consult their interactive Swiss Wind Atlas
[https://www.europeandataportal.eu/data/en/dataset/https-opendata-swiss-dataset-0398648e-3dbf-4fa3-be58-32a8d251c6c0].
[https://data.europa.eu/sites/default/files/img/media/wind-denmark.png]
Despite the environmental advantages of wind turbines, societal
debates revolve around the visual presence and noise of onshore and
offshore wind farms. Luckily, there are also less disputable wind farm
landscapes, for instance in the case of the traditional windmills in
the Netherlands. Related Open Data on this type of cultural heritage
can be found in this this Dutch map
[https://www.europeandataportal.eu/data/en/dataset/cultuurhistorische-hoofdstructuur-nederzettingen-windmolens].
Information about the wind is not only relevant for producing clean
energy. It can also serve as a guide whenever visiting the beach.
Particularly in this time of the year, one might be warned for high
waves and dangerous weather conditions. The SeaMobile application use
case [/sites/default/files/use-cases/use_case_cyprus_-_seamobile.pdf],
is an example of such an Open Data solution. It uses local
information, marine forecasts (waves, currents, temperature, salinity
and winds) and weather forecasts to inform tourists and recreational
sector about the beaches and marine waters.

Interested in the field of renewable energy? Then go ahead and explore
other available datasets available on the European Data Portal
[https://www.europeandataportal.eu/en]!
