Case Studies/OpenEI
This information platform will allow people across the globe to benefit from the Department of Energy’s clean energy data and technical resources. The true potential of this tool will grow with the public’s participation – as they add new data and share their expertise – to ensure that all communities have access to the information they need to broadly deploy the clean energy resources of the future. — Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of Energy [1]
Overview
OpenEI is a community effort devoted to assembling the world's most comprehensive collection of energy information--including datasets, tools, and models. From OpenEI:
"The Open Energy Information initiative (OpenEI) is a platform to connect the world’s energy data. It is a linked open data platform bringing together energy information to provide improved analyses, unique visualizations, and real-time access to data. OpenEI follows guidelines set by the White House’s Open Government Initiative , which is focused on transparency, collaboration, and participation. OpenEI strives to provide open access to this energy information, with the ultimate goal of spurring creativity and driving innovation in the energy sector."
License Usage
All content contributed to OpenEI is released by default into the public domain under the CC0 public domain dedication. The CC0 notice is included in the site's editing interface and also at the CKAN page.
Motivations
From the U.S. Department of Energy press release,
"The website was launched as part of a broader effort at DOE, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and across the Obama Administration to promote the openness, transparency, and accessibility of the federal government."
Impact
Technical Details
- "Download CSV" links are present on certain pages (e.g. http://en.openei.org/wiki/Map_of_Clean_Energy_Companies)
- A SPARQL endpoint for querying data (http://en.openei.org/sparql), plus a few examples of its use (http://en.openei.org/resources/)
- RDF Exports of any given page via the "browse properties" link (e.g. http://en.openei.org/wiki/Special:ExportRDF/Colorado)
OpenEI is also planning to:
- Provide a bulk download of our complete RDF (similar to how one can get complete dbpedia exports)
- Provide a better way to find various datasets (and download them in various formats, such as RDF and CSV)
- Provide a mechanism for submitting bulk datasets which is separate from, but complementary to, our Wiki)
Media
- DOE press release announcing OpenEI: http://energy.gov/news2009/8381.htm
- CKAN package: http://ckan.net/package/openei
- Data sets on the site: http://en.openei.org/datasets/
