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Solar Potential for D.C. Buildings

Ever wondered how much solar power your building could generate? The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) and Mapdwell partnered to create an incredible interactive map that shows exactly that–for every building in D.C. The map includes the ability to click on individual buildings and determine how much electricity could be produced from rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The map also calculates estimated payback for solar PV projects and calculates pollution reductions. You can click on existing solar systems and see what their yearly financial benefit is.

Energy Savings

The data for the map comes from the Army’s Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) system, aerial imagery from the D.C. Geographic Information System, and building footprints from EarthData International, Inc. The map uses high resolution (one meter by one meter) data to create a three-dimensional model of the sample terrain that accounts for the shape of building rooftops and structures, existing infrastructure, and tree foliage. That information is then evaluated for the amount of solar irradiation that falls on each unit of surface for each hour of the year.

Payback Period

The DDOE hopes the tool will encourage residents and businesses to adopt 2.5% solar energy usage by 2023.

Existing PV