Renewable Electricity Generation in the US: the REPiS Database

摘要

The growing demand for energy and the continuation of the abundant use of fossil fuels has led mankind to face complex environmental problems. To be able to cope with these challenges and provide timely and effective solutions, information is needed as a starting point to evaluate the current situation, determine weaknesses and strengths, and to make valuable plans for the future. In the midst of a plethora of data, it is important to develop a capacity to organize and store this data in such a way that it is easy to access, useful, current and maintained throughout the years. One such effort is the database created and maintained by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which is aimed at accounting for the grid-connected renewable electricity generating plants in the United States. Entitled the Renewable Electric Plant Information System (REPiS), this database compiles data from various publicly available resources and is available publicly on the web. This paper provides an overview of the REPiS database, explains its content, provides several examples of applications of the data it contains, and discusses the future of the REPiS database project.