Jump to the following:

Ordnance Survey logo

Discover Ordnance Survey

Skip primary navigation
Site Search
Skip secondary navigation

Renewable Energy

With the current drive to increase the amount of energy produced from renewable sources in order to meet our targets for renewable energy and carbon emissions, it is more important than ever to be able to source as much information as possible about a potential site at the earliest opportunity. This is true both for renewable energy companies looking for development sites and for large organisations interested in reducing their carbon footprint by installing alternative energy generation at some of their operational sites.

Costs of assessment

In view of the costs associated with meteorological surveys, environmental impact assessments and the planning process it is essential to make use of the best information available to eliminate unsuitable sites. Ordnance Survey’s datasets include a wealth of geographic information which can play a major part in enabling a developer to understand the potential of a particular site without the need for a site visit.

Read our technical paper Locating suitable sites for renewable energy projects using Ordnance Survey products (PDF)

OS OpenData

Following the launch of OS OpenData, a number of Ordnance Survey datasets can be downloaded free of charge from our website, making geographic information widely available.

The wealth of information about features in the landscape included in Ordnance Survey datasets can be of value at all stages of the project lifecycle, from initial site selection and assessment, to feasibility and environmental impact assessments, to planning application, and then construction and operation.

OS Open Data can be supplemented by information in our more detailed datasets. Ordnance Survey’s MasterMap® Topography Layer data, our largest scale database will provide the ideal base for the detailed site plans which need to be submitted as part of a planning application. 

This mapping can then be used during the construction phase and subsequently during the operation of the site, as a permanent record of what is where, particularly the locations of any buried cables connecting an electricity generating site to the grid, or gas generation to the gas grid or a combined heat and power plant.

 

Skip supplementary navigation

For general enquiries, complaints, feedback or suggestions, email: customerservices@ordnancesurvey.co.uk or call us on 08456 05 05 05