OpenGridWorks: An Amazing Global Energy Map

There’s been a lot of buzz in the world of cartography and data visualization about this project in recent days. It’s really cool, so I’ve been doing some research on it.

First, here’s the link to the OpenGridWorks map: https://opengridworks.com/

The core idea is to zoom in on any region of the planet and explore the locations of power plants interactively. It includes all existing power plants, but not all of them are shown. For example, when I zoom in on areas I know well, some small plants are missing, which isn’t surprising since the goal is to cover the entire planet. The map also shows power line routes, substation and data center locations, and planned infrastructure.

Its creator, Brian Bartholomew, summarizes the project’s scope with three figures: over 120,000 operational plants, 2.7 million medium- and high-voltage transmission lines, and over 800,000 substations. The map allows users to overlay different layers and visually explore energy and related infrastructure. The goal is not so much to offer a “real-time” system as it is to gather and make navigable various highly dispersed datasets that were previously difficult to consult in a unified manner.

The system combines a diverse mix of public domain, open-licensed, and third-party databases. Sources cited include OpenStreetMap, Global Energy Monitor, EIA, HIFLD, IM3, PNNL, DOE, OurGridFuture, WRI Aqueduct, and TeleGeography, among others. Of course, such an ambitious project means that although it has a global focus, not all layers have the same coverage or level of detail across the entire planet. Some sources, such as OpenStreetMap and Global Energy Monitor, are clearly global, while others, such as parts of the data from EIA, HIFLD, AFDC, and certain data center layers, are much more focused on the United States.

The project uses CARTO and OpenStreetMap for its geospatial reference layers. Available layers include power plants, transmission lines, substations, gas pipelines, data centers, planned transmission projects, submarine cable routes, and flood risk. These layers make the project an interesting tool for observing the relationship between renewable generation and the transmission grid, the geographical concentration of certain assets, and the overlap between digital infrastructure and the electrical grid.