Geospatial Energy Map of India boosting Sustainable Development in the Country

Overview

The energy data in India is highly fragmented and scattered across various organizations or even departments of the Government, based on their respective domains or expertise. While there are several maps and detailed data silos available discretely, the lack of a consolidated energy map of the country, besides the highly static nature of existing maps, is a constant roadblock to integration with associated features of topography and other physical assets.

The Geospatial Energy Map of India by the NITI Aayog in collaboration with ISRO attempts to identify and locate all primary and secondary sources of energy along with their transportation and transmission networks. The idea is to develop a comprehensive overview of energy production and distribution in the country using a robust GIS platform.

Vision: To provide geospatial inputs for supporting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) - 7, on ensuring ‘access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all’.

Objectives

To develop a web-GIS-based information system for the visualisation of spatial and non-spatial data associated with conventional energy sources in the country including power plants, coal mines, oil & gas wells, oil refineries, pipelines, the renewable energy resource potential, and other key energy infrastructure in India.

Stakeholders Involved

NITI Aayog, Ministry of Power, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Department of Atomic Energy. Consultations were also held with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Department of Science and Technology on data security aspects.

Solution and Implementation

Nodal officers were appointed from the concerned ministries related to the energy sector who were responsible for ascertaining key requirements and collecting relevant information and data from key Ministries. The data thus received was collated, validated, verified, corrected, and organised in a systematic database.

The web-based Geospatial Energy Map of India was thus developed using open-source technology and inhouse software. The major functionalities in the Geospatial Energy Map of India include visualisation of static and dynamic data, interactive and user-friendly map navigation, pre-composed energy data views, basic feature attribute query, dynamic data visualisation of select-layers, state- and zone-level energy data visualisation, thematic layer metadata information display, and additional tools (upload KML/JSON files, area/distance measurement tools, and tools for feature drawing).

A three-tier secure data editing application has also been developed to enable Nodal Officers in modifying and updating the database. Moreover, the website also fetches data from the servers of Coal India Ltd. and Central Electricity Authority using API for updating dynamic data.

Use of Geospatial Technologies

The application has been developed using open-source technology and in-house software. PostgreSQL was used as Database Management System (DBMS) at the back end. GeoServer was used for publishing spatial data as OGC-compliant Web Map Service (WMS), while OpenLayers was used for displaying map data in web browsers. QGIS was used for data cleaning and preparation.

Key Outputs

The energy map currently provides visualisation of static data of 27 thematic layers. The website is available at https://vedas.sac.gov.in/energymap. All thematic layers are sharable using OGC-compliant secure Web Map Service (WMS) for interoperability. Outcomes Achieved

A key outcome of this GIS-based energy map is efficient Geospatial planning of resources and infrastructure, including upcoming solar parks, coal blocks, crude oil and natural gas pipelines, investment guidance for financial institutions, disaster management of possible energy disruption and emergency response, and safety of energy assets under inclement weather conditions

The website is being used by NITI Aayog for formulating policies such as National Energy Policy (NEP) and Vision Document – 2035. The GIS-based energy map will facilitate policy-making, inter-state and inter-ministry coordination, and private sector participation in the energy sector. By bringing together a visualization of both spatial and non-spatial data, spanning renewable and non-renewable power plants, oil and gas downstream sectors,