Software Tools for Evaluating Renewable Energy Sources

Abstract

In this paper a review of existing software tools for the evaluating and modeling of renewable energy sources, which allow to determine various aspects, such as: the amount of incoming energy for a particular area, the economic feasibility of involving an alternative source, the impact on the environment, the cost of the projected system, the features of the terrain, etc. Programs for the evaluation of solar and wind energy, as well as solutions allowing the evaluation of several different types of renewable energy sources were considered. As a result, open-source software tools, such as: QGIS, SAGA GIS, which can be integrated into the implementation of a comprehensive assessment of renewable energy sources to perform certain functions, such as a preliminary assessment of the gross renewable energy potential in specific geographical conditions and identifying topographical features of the regions under consideration, were defined.