Energy and Climate Cluster Session Abstract

ESIP Energy and Climate Cluster Workshop

January 4-5, 2012, Washington, DC

“Dynamic Decision Tools Catalog and Community of Practice”

One of the challenges Federal agencies face when reviewing energy related projects (e.g. wind power site selection) is a method to assess risks associated with those projects. Project proponents and NGOs evaluating environmental impacts have similar concerns. There are a number of tools that can be used but they don’t have the transparency in terms of the models used, and the data that went behind the tools. What could help is a dynamic decision tools catalog and community of practice to build transparency of the decision tool architecture, data, and functionality. This would aid the decision maker in tool selection and use appropriate to their planning goals and help identify gaps and improvements needed to the kit of decision tools.

ESIP can play a coordinating role by engaging universities and industry along with the Federal agencies and NGOs in a cross-sector understanding of the needs, maintaining such a catalog of decision tools, engaging the community in a dialog and discussion, and facilitating partnerships in further tool development and application. Some of the Federal agencies that could have interest in this project and have related initiatives are Fish and Wildlife Service, USGS, DoE, NREL, and Bureau of Land Management. The purpose of this workshop at the ESIP 2012 winter meeting is to bring government agencies, researchers, and developers together to identify what the stakeholder needs are and discuss an approach we could take (as a group participating within ESIP) to address this problem. One of the targeted outcomes is a framework for ESIP to undertake this project. A white paper will be generated to capture the results that could serve as a statement of needs for the Federal agencies to consider RFI/RFPs.

Shailendra Kumar, shailendra.kumar@ngc.com

Eckman, Richard S, richard.s.eckman@nasa.gov