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Bhutan Resource Maps and Toolkit

This page contains high-resolution wind and solar resource maps and data products for Bhutan. The high-resolution (1-km) annual wind power maps were developed using a numerical modeling approach along with NREL's empirical validation methodology. The high-resolution (10-km) annual and seasonal solar resource maps were developed using weather satellite data incorporated into a site-time specific solar mapping approach developed at the U.S. State University of New York at Albany.

Data products from the wind and solar maps have been output in a geographic information system (GIS) format and incorporated into the Geospatial Toolkit (GsT). The GsT allows the user to examine the resource data in a geospatial context along with other key information relevant to renewable energy development, such as transportation networks, transmission corridors, existing power facilities, load centers, terrain conditions, and land use. GsT users can incorporate location-specific data directly into the micropower optimization model, HOMER, to design least-cost hybrid renewable power systems to meet electric-load requirements at the village level.

These products were developed by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) South Asia Regional Initiative for Energy (SARI/E). Access the Bilateral Partnerships page for more on NREL's work with SARI/E.

Please contact Shannon Cowlin for any additional information.

You also can visit our NREL Geospatial Toolkits page for more information on this and other countries.

Some of the following documents are available as Adobe PDF. Download Adobe Reader.

Wind Resources

Map depicting wind power resources in Bhutan.

Maps

  • Wind Power Density (W/m2) at 50m Above Ground Level (PDF 392 KB)
  • Wind Power Density (W/m2) at 50m Above Ground Level with Meteorological Stations (PDF 204 KB)
  • MODIS Percent Tree Cover with Meteorological Stations (PDF 268 KB)
  • Elevation with Meteorological Stations (PDF 208 KB)
  • Meteorological Stations with Wind Data (PDF 196 KB)

GIS Data

  • Wind Power Density at 50m Above Ground Level (ZIP 249 KB)

Documentation

Solar Resources

Maps

Map depicting annual direct normal solar radiation in Bhutan.

Direct normal irradiance

Global horizontal irradiance

Latitude tilt

GIS Data

Documentation

  • Solar Resource Assessment Methodology for Bhutan (PDF 40 KB)

Geospatial Toolkit

  • Bhutan Geospatial Toolkit (GsT) with high-resolution data interfaced to HOMER (EXE 15.3 MB)