Electricity: The Map
Posted by David Foster on May 11th, 2009 (All posts by David Foster)
It seems that General Electric has hired a group of Barbarians to help them with their Internet marketing activities. No, really.
The said Barbarians have located an interesting data visualization tool…an interactive map of the U.S. with lots of data about power sources and the grid. It shows energy source mix by state, individual power plants, the geography of solar and wind potential, and key elements of the grid as it now stands and with extensions which some have proposed.
I thought this might be an interesting reference for our many discussions here about energy policy, economics, and technology.
May 11th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
very interesting
May 11th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
That is so incredibly good.
Thank you.
May 11th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Let’s see what a first glance reveals:
(1) I note that there doesn’t seem to much overlap between the best windpower sites and the exisiting power grid.
(2) 3/4 of the U.S. is boned when it comes to using solar power.
(3) The Great Lake states are going to get hammered by Obama’s anti-Coal jihad.
May 12th, 2009 at 6:57 am
The map is nicely designed. The Barbarians are mislabeled. I think it’s the opposite – Noah’s tone suggests that the readers are barbarians, and he’s in the role of “cool” science teacher from a 7th grade. A certain type of teacher, who doesn’t answer comments…
May 12th, 2009 at 7:16 am
Very cool map, thank you.
May 25th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
@David: Thanks for the shout out and hope you like the site (and thanks for the comment).
@Tatyana: I’m sorry you feel that way, I certainly am not trying to speak down to anyone, on the contrary I am actually learning all this stuff myself as I go (I am a marketer, not a scientist). And re: not responding to comments – Not exactly sure which comment I didn’t answer, but I send a personal email response to each and every commenter (and respond publicly when appropriate).