The interactive FEMP Screening Map shows renewable energy resources and economic calculations for photovoltaic, solar ventilation preheating, and solar water heating technologies.

To help agencies assess the viability of on-site distributed energy projects, the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) offers a variety of renewable energy resource maps and screening tools. Renewable energy is available throughout the United States but resources vary greatly depending on location and microclimate.

Before an agency initiates a distributed energy project, it should measure and verify the local resources. The following distributed energy resource maps, calculators, and screening tools are a good place to start; however, be sure to consult an expert for a professional evaluation before implementing a project.

  • REopt Screening Analysis: NREL's REopt techno-economic decision-support model analyzes and optimizes energy systems for buildings, campuses, communities, and microgrids. This analysis service identifies and prioritizes distributed energy projects at a single site or for multiple sites across cities, states, or countries, each with its own energy requirements, resources, goals, and constraints. Read the NREL REopt fact sheet.
  • FEMP Screening Map: Interactive map examines the viability of three solar technologies in the United States with a high-level annualized economic calculation, with and without potential savings from available renewable energy incentives at the state and federal levels. The tool suggests technology costs, calculates performance data, and calculates the economic value, such as levelized cost of energy (dollars per kilowatt-hour), of a project using geospatial site data.
  • NREL Renewable Energy Maps: Collection of maps from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) detail renewable energy resources across the United States, including biomass, geothermal, hydrogen, marine and hydrokinetic, solar, and wind.
  • NREL PVWatts Calculator: Estimates the energy production and cost of energy of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) energy systems worldwide to easily develop estimates of the performance of potential PV installations.
  • FEMP Solar Hot Water System Calculator: Estimates the solar hot water system size that will work best in a federal facility and how much the system will cost.
  • NREL Levelized Cost of Energy Calculator: Compares a combination of capital costs, operations and maintenance, performance, and fuel costs for utility-scale and distributed-generation renewable energy technologies.