One possible way to identify areas where power infrastrucure is yet to be mapped

zabop · 2024-10-12T18:13:31.533Z

I am impressed by the amount of power infrastructure data OSM has in the Czech Republic. To identify areas where one could still help mapping powerlines from orthophotos, I created a map showing the length of mapped powerlines (Tag:power=cable, Tag:power=minor_line, Tag:power=line) per unit area. The whiter a square is, the less powerlines it has (in the Czech Republic, I didn’t include neightbouring countries - used GeoFabrik’s Czech Republic extract).

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I hope some will find this map useful. If you are into mapping something you would like to have a similar map for, let me know and I’ll have a go at creating such a map.

Tomas_J · 2024-10-19T15:51:06.615Z

Hi, I would appreciate such map for Slovakia :). I can promote it on the Slovak osm discussion group afterwards.

zabop · 2024-10-20T10:45:20.949Z

Here it is for Slovakia! If some modifications to it would be helpful: let me know and I’ll try my best.

This and this site helps visualising the actual gridlines, not their density.

Tomas_J · 2024-10-22T14:29:39.286Z

Thanks. I posted it to the Slovak OSM discussion group and I will also try to add the missing power lines by myself. Tomas_J

VictorIE · 2024-10-22T22:40:21.547Z

Not everywhere has power lines, e.g. lakes, mountains or large forests have very little.

One option might be a map of buildings that are more than X metres from a power line. Like an isochrone map, but for power lines.

I map power infrastructure in Ireland: Open Infrastructure Map

Tomas_J · 2024-10-23T04:10:24.429Z

Hi, do you have such isochronic map for different countries? Btw. Ireland’s electric infrastructure map looks awesome.

zabop · 2024-10-25T15:51:14.267Z

I created this map for Albania. Color of building is dependent on distance to gridlines. There are problems (ie I cannot yet create such a map for a bigger country like Slovakia or Ireland), but I can look into solving them if this is along the lines of what we want. Feedback is welcome.

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zabop · 2024-10-25T17:35:33.394Z

On second thought, I don’t really like my Albania map. Once can only see building colors at the scale where the gridlines are clearly visible anyway, so I don’t see much point in such a visualisation.

zabop · 2024-10-27T20:44:27.551Z

I have thought a bit more about what other possibly useful visualisations I could create. I am also trying to come up with ways to determine the voltage of an already mapped gridline (I plan to post about this later). So, I visualised the following: length of gridlines without assigned voltage value.

Slovakia, Ireland.

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ly0n · 2024-12-17T14:46:52.438Z

Have you considered using a tool like this here to estimate the grid using night lights? Comparing this data with OSM Power Grid could help a lot to find areas with low coverage. https://github.com/carderne/gridfinder

zabop · 2024-12-17T15:30:00.995Z

Thanks, good idea! I’ll try.

ly0n · 2024-12-17T15:38:34.362Z

I am also very interested in this. It looks like the dataset for the whole world can be downloaded here with the latest update from 2020: https://gridfinder.rdrn.me/

The dataset can be recreated with updated data as explained here, but it looks like pretty hard GIS data science: predictive-mapping-global-power/README.md at master · carderne/predictive-mapping-global-power · GitHub

Edit: I just found a new version of this dataset here: Derived map of global electricity transmission and distribution lines - Dataset - ENERGYDATA.INFO

VictorIE · 2024-12-17T21:00:46.591Z

I think your colour scale is off here. Blue (for things near power lines). I wonder if red (for things far from power lines) should be at a distance of several km?
You often can’t see the power system in urban areas, as much of it will be underground. Admittedly, this will vary from country to country and town to town. Transformers can be a proxy for power lines in such cases.
Even with good aerial photos, it can be difficult to see overhead power lines that connect to individual buildings. Any building within 100 metres of a line over 1,000 volts should be considered to have its power network mapped.
Once you have a number associated with each building, based on how far it is from the power network, you can then apply your grid square system.

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One possible way to identify areas where power infrastrucure is yet to be mapped

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