System and Method for Geomatic Modeling of a Diverse Resource Base Across Broad Landscapes

Abstract

A system and method for modeling resource availability includes a data collection system including one or more data collection devices configured to collect and collecting information pertaining to resource availability in a geographic region, and a modeling system, coupled to the data collection system, including one or more computing devices configured to process and processing the collected information to generate data that identifies one or more development sites specific to the geographic region, based on resource availability and add-on information specific to the geographic region.

1 - 34 . (canceled) 
     
     
         35 . A system for modeling resource availability including:
 a data collection system including one or more data collection devices configured to collect information pertaining to resource availability in a geographic region; and   a modeling system, coupled to the data collection system, including one or more computing devices configured to
 calculate a normalized slope for the geographic region based on the collected information and 
 process the collected information to generate data that identifies one or more development sites specific to the geographic region, based on resource availability, the calculated normalized slope, and add-on information specific to the geographic region. 
   
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the add-on information includes at least one of environmental information, policy information, infrastructure information, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the data collection system includes at least one of a satellite system, an airborne sensor system, a street-level sensor system, a fixed sensor system, a ground truthing system, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the data collection system includes a data storage system including one or more data storage devices configured to store data collected from the one or more data collection devices. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the modeling system is further configured to rate one or more development sites based on resource availability information and add-on information. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the modeling system generates data at a plurality of resolution levels. 
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the resource is renewable energy. 
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 41 , wherein the renewable energy resource includes one of solar energy, wind enemy, biofuel energy, water energy, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         43 . The system of  claim 42 , wherein the renewable energy resource is solar and the modeling system is configured to:
 determine an amount of time that unshadowed sunlight falls in the geographic region;   calculate a solar potential for the geographic region based on the calculated normalized slope;   subtract one or more areas from the calculated solar potential based on the collected information to produce base usable solar potential information;   integrate the add-on information to the base usable solar potential information to produce enhanced usable solar potential information; and   integrate parcel information obtained from the collected information to the enhanced usable solar potential information to produce parcel-based usable solar potential information.   
     
     
         44 . The system of  claim 42 , wherein the renewable energy resource is wind and the modeling system is configured to model at least one of a wind pattern, a wind direction, or a wind intensity, or any combination thereof, using at least one of a historical climate measurement, a temperature gradient, or topography, or any combination thereof, to create at least one wind map. 
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 42 , wherein the renewable energy resource is biofuel and the modeling system is configured to determine at least one possible location for at least one biofuel production facility based on at least one of food and feed price competition considerations, deforestation considerations, land use considerations, soil type considerations, climate considerations, hazard considerations, transportation considerations, or scalability considerations, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         46 . The system of  claim 42 , wherein the renewable energy resource is water and the modeling system is configured to:
 exclude one or more regions from the collected information that do not intersect with a body of water to create a resultant map including at least one body of water;   calculate the minimum, maximum, and average rate of flow of water for the at least one body of water;   calculate a potential head along the length of the at least one body of water based on the calculated normalized slope and the collected information;   calculate the potential energy for at least one location on the at least one body of water based on the calculated potential head and the calculated rates of flow of water for the at least one body of water; and   output the calculated potential energy.   
     
     
         47 . A system for modeling resource availability and disseminating modeled information including:
 a data collection system including one or more computing devices configured to collect information pertaining to resource availability in a geographic region and transfer the collected information to a data normalization system, wherein the data normalization system includes one or more computing devices configured to normalize the collected information according to a geodetic datum reference system to produce normalized data, wherein the resource includes solar energy and one or more of wind energy, biofuel energy, or water energy;   a datastore system including one or more computing devices configured to store the normalized data for at least one of internal use, external use, or both;   a data modeling system configured to receive the stored normalized data and process the stored normalized data to generate data that identifies one or more development sites specific to the geographic region, based on resource availability and add-on information specific to the geographic region; and   a customer distribution system including one or more computing devices configured to receive one or more data requests, and in response to the one or more data requests provide either, the normalized data stored in the datastore system, or the data generated by the data modeling system, or both.   
     
     
         48 . The system of  claim 47 , wherein the customer distribution system includes:
 a subscriber authorization system including one or more computing devices configured to authenticate an identity of one or more subscribers making data requests to the customer distribution system; and   a data delivery system including one or more computing devices configured to deliver the requested data to one or more subscribers authenticated by the subscriber authorization system.   
     
     
         49 . The system of  claim 47 , wherein the add-on information includes at least one of environmental information, policy information, infrastructure information, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         50 . The system of  claim 47  wherein the data collection system includes at least one of a satellite system, an airborne sensor system, a street-level sensor system, a fixed sensor system, a ground truthing system, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         51 . The system of  claim 47 , wherein the data collection system includes a data storage system including one or more data storage devices configured to store data collected from the one or more data collection devices. 
     
     
         52 . The system of  claim 47 , wherein the data modeling system generates data at a plurality of resolution levels. 
     
     
         53 . The system of  claim 47 , wherein the data modeling system is further configured to rate one or more development sites based on resource availability information and add-on information. 
     
     
         54 . A method for modeling resource allocation including:
 collecting information pertaining to resource availability in a geographic region, using at least one data collection system;   calculating, using one or more computing devices, a normalized slope for the geographic region based on the collected information;   analyzing the collected information using one or more computing devices to generate data that identifies one or more development sites specific to the geographic region, based on resource availability information, the calculated normalized slope, and add-on information specific to the geographic region; and   providing the generated data to one or more subscribers using one or more computing devices in response to one or more data requests.   
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the providing the generated data to the one or more subscribers further includes at least one of authenticating or validating, or both, the one or more data requests using the one or more computing devices. 
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the add-on information includes at least one of environmental information, policy information, infrastructure information, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the data collection system includes at least one of a satellite system, an airborne sensor system, a street-level sensor system, a fixed sensor system, a ground truthing system, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the data collection system includes a data storage system including one or more data storage devices configured to store data collected from the one or more data collection devices. 
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 54 , further including rating the one or more development sites based on the resource availability information and the add-on information using one or more computing devices. 
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 54 , further including generating data using one or more computing devices, at a plurality of resolution levels. 
     
     
         61 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the resource is renewable energy. 
     
     
         62 . The method of  claim 61 , wherein the renewable energy resource includes one of solar energy, wind energy, biofuel energy, water energy, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         63 . The method of  claim 62 , wherein the renewable energy resource is solar energy and the method includes:
 calculating, using one or more computing devices, a solar potential for the geographic region based on the calculated normalized slope;   subtracting, using one or more computing devices, one or more areas from the calculated solar potential based on the collected information to produce base usable solar potential information;   integrating, using one or more computing devices, the add-on information to the base usable solar potential information to produce enhanced usable solar potential information; and   integrating, using one or more computing devices, parcel information obtained from the collected information to the enhanced usable solar potential information to produce parcel-based usable solar potential information.   
     
     
         64 . The method of  claim 62 , wherein the energy resource is wind and the method includes modeling, using one or more computing devices, at least one of a wind pattern, a wind direction, or a wind intensity, or any combination thereof, using at least one of a historical climate measurement, a temperature gradient, or topography, or any combination thereof, to create at least one wind map. 
     
     
         65 . The method of  claim 62 , wherein the energy resource is biofuel and the method includes determining, using one or more computing devices, at least one possible location for at least one biofuel production facility based on at least one of food and feed price competition considerations, deforestation considerations, land use considerations, soil type considerations, climate considerations, hazard considerations, transportation considerations, or scalability considerations, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         66 . The method of  claim 62 , wherein the energy resource is water and the method includes:
 excluding one or more regions from the collected information that do not intersect with a body of water to create a resultant map including at least one body of water,   calculating, using one or more computing devices, the minimum, maximum, and average rate of flow of water for the at least one body of water;   calculating, using one or more computing devices, a potential head along the length of the at least one body of water based on the calculated normalized slope and the collected information;   calculating, using one or more computing devices, the potential energy for at least one location on the at least one body of water based on the calculated potential head and the calculated rates of flow of water for the at least one body of water; and   outputting the calculated potential energy.