Energy resource assessment, environmental assessment, and permitting

The starting point for new renewable energy projects is a characterization of the renewable resources available across a region, called a resource assessment. The technical renewable energy potential estimates the achievable installed capacity and generation of a specific technology based on the topographic limitations, land use constraints, and system performance. This step identifies areas with abundant renewable energy resources that are technically developable.

Many areas may be undevelopable despite having high-quality renewable energy resources. Early identification of constraints, client goals, regulatory agency needs, and stakeholder issues allows problems to be addressed before a project can be initiated. Permit applications and environmental assessments that obtain the needed information must be prepared. Permitting strategy, environmental assessment and application preparation, and technical support for projects that require municipal, provincial/state, and environmental approvals and licenses should be provided.

Renewable energy resource maps show the theoretical resource potential for the technologies considered within each region of interest. Spatially referenced renewable energy resource data identifies the study areas and are particularly important for site-constrained resources such as wind and solar. Resource maps allow for the calculation of power density (W/m2) or potential electricity generation per unit of area over a given period of time (kWh/m2/day) for renewable energy resources under consideration.