CSIRO’s data research and development body Data61, last week unveiled the new and improved Australian Renewable Energy Mapping Infrastructure (AREMI) at the Clean Energy Summit in Melbourne.

Developed by CSIRO’s Data61 with funding support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the Australian Renewable Energy Mapping Infrastructure (AREMI) provides free and open access to a wide array of Australian renewable energy data.

Hosted through nationalmap.gov.au, the AREMI map provides GIS resources for solar, wind, bioenergy, geothermal, hydro and wave power, including existing infrastructure and the locations of potential new opportunities.

ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said AREMI was a priceless tool to assist the renewable energy market to find out where renewable energy can add the most value.

“AREMI helps project developers and researchers find the best opportunities for renewable energy in Australia and is speeding up the transition to a low carbon energy system,” Mr Frischknecht said.

“Effectively mapping and sharing renewable energy information is critical to building the energy systems of the future. This is the first time such an extensive collection of powerful renewable energy information has been available in the one place.”

New network opportunity maps, developed with ARENA support and hosted on AREMI, were also announced by the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures at the summit. The new network opportunity maps show where energy demand is expected to outstrip supply. These are often locations where renewables offer an alternative to extra poles and wires and can reduce power prices whilst increasing network stability.

The map can also be used to find untapped biomass resources based on new data from the Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation and ocean data from the CSIRO wave atlas critical for the emerging wave power industry.