California Energy Commission Energy Facilities Siting and Environment

This collection of California maps represents a subset created to aid analysis as part of the Strategic Value Analysis (SVA) project. Developed by the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program, SVA was envisioned to strategically identify and locate new renewable generation areas to meet the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard goals. SVA presents a systems approach to maximizing the value of investment in renewable resources and, at the same time, addresses transmission system development needs statewide. The approach is noteworthy in that it quantifies the value of renewable energy resources and technologies at specific locations by factoring the value these facilities would bring to the transmission and distribution grid. Coupling advanced GIS analysis and visualization and a variety of data layers, including renewable resource assessments, land use, and transmission and load forecasts, a portfolio of renewable projects corresponding to locations with transmission benefit was developed.

Courtesy of the California Energy Commission.