Identification_Information: Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: Ignizio, Drew A. Originator: Carr, Natasha B. Publication_Date: 2012 Title: Locations and Attributes of Utility-Scale Solar Power Facilities in Colorado and New Mexico, 2011. Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Shapefile Series_Information: Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series Issue_Identification: DS 693 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Denver, CO Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/693/ Description: Abstract: The data series consists of polygonal boundaries for utility-scale solar power facilities (both photovoltaic and concentrating solar power) located within Colorado and New Mexico as of December 2011. Attributes captured for each facility include the following: facility name, size/production capacity (in MW), type of solar technology employed, location, state, operational status, year the facility came online, and source identification information. Facility locations and perimeters were derived from 1-meter true-color aerial photographs (2011) produced by the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP); the photographs have a positional accuracy of about ±5 meters (accessed from http://gis.apfo.usda.gov/arcgis/services). Solar facility perimeters represent the full extent of each solar facility site, unless otherwise noted. When visible, linear features such as fences or road lines were used to delineate the full extent of the solar facility. All related equipment including buildings, power substations, and other associated infrastructure were included within the solar facility. If solar infrastructure was indistinguishable from adjacent infrastructure, or if solar panels were installed on existing building tops, only the solar collecting equipment was digitized. The Polygon field indicates whether the "equipment footprint" or the full site outline was digitized. The spatial accuracy of features that represent site perimeters or an equipment footprint is estimated at +/- 10 meters. Facilities under construction or not fully visible in the NAIP imagery at the time of digitization (December 2011) are represented by an approximate site outline based on the best available information and documenting materials. The spatial accuracy of these facilities cannot be estimated without more up-to-date imagery users are advised to consult more recent imagery as it becomes available. The Status field provides information about the operational status of each facility as of December 2011. This data series contributes to an Online Interactive Energy Atlas developed by the U.S. Geological Survey. The Energy Atlas synthesizes data on existing and potential energy development in Colorado and New Mexico and includes additional natural resource data layers. This information may be used by decision makers to evaluate and compare the potential benefits and tradeoffs associated with different energy development strategies or scenarios. Interactive maps, downloadable data layers, metadata, and decision support tools are included in the Energy Atlas. The format of the Energy Atlas facilitates the integration of information about energy with key terrestrial and aquatic resources for evaluating resource values and minimizing risks from energy development activities. Purpose: The data set is appropriate for research and GIS display/analysis requiring locational information and general site details about solar facilities larger than 0.5 MW located within Colorado and New Mexico. Supplemental_Information: The Utility-Scale Solar Projects in the United States Operating, Under Construction, or Under Development (11/30/2011) document released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) served as the starting point to locate and digitize solar facilities. All facilities on the SEIA list within Colorado and New Mexico were researched to find source documentation (permitting documents, press releases, and original information from facility developers and power purchasers) to assist in finding the most precise location of the facilities. Facilities listed in the SEIA document that could not be reliably located are not included in the data set. Additional solar facilities not present in the SEIA document that were reliably located using other source information do appear in the data set. The source used to identify each solar facility is included as an attribute for each feature users are advised to consult these sources for additional information. The majority of the sites have a generating capacity of 1 MW or greater, although several facilities with an output capacity less than 1 MW were included in the data set after being incidentally identified in the imagery or related supporting documents. These facilities can be identified by the values in the Size_MW field and still represent solar projects of a significant size (greater than or equal to .5 MW in size). Facilities with a generating capacity less than 0.5 MW are not included in the data set. With the exception of part of the facility at the Denver Federal Center, all the facilities represented in the data set are ground-mounted solar installations. Hierarchical Workflow for Facility Digitization: 1.When possible, fences or roads were used to delineate site boundaries. 2.If roads or fences are not visible, the digitizers best judgment was used to capture the site footprint. 3.If collecting site footprint was not practical, just the solar collecting equipment was captured. The footprint of some facilities included little more than just the solar panels, while other facilities had more infrastructure or open land within the boundary defined by roads or fences. Occasionally, a constructed site boundary could not be determined or was not appropriate (such as when panels were installed on already existing, unrelated buildings) and in these cases, just the equipment outline (solar panels or collecting devices) were collected. Finally, there were a limited number of facilities where a strong boundary or an equipment outline was unable to be determined from the NAIP imagery. In these cases, an approximate polygon was digitized to represent the location. The description of the collection method for each individual site is attributed on each site polygon in the "Polygon" field in the associated metadata. Time_Period_of_Content: Time_Period_Information: Multiple_Dates/Times: Single_Date/Time: Calendar_Date: 20110922 Single_Date/Time: Calendar_Date: 20110721 Currentness_Reference: September 22, 2011 corresponds to the last date of NAIP imagery acquistion within Colorado. July 21, 2011 corresponds to the last date of NAIP imagery acquistion within New Mexico. These facilities were digitized during November and December of 2011 using 1 m. imagery from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP). 2011 imagery was used from the NAIP image service (accessed from http://gis.apfo.usda.gov/arcgis/services). Although the NAIP imagery was acquired during 2011, it was apparent that for several facilities, additional development/construction had taken place since the aerial photos were taken. The facilities in this data set include those for which either the facility or an unambiguous site outline could be found in 2011 NAIP images in conjunction with supporting documents. Consequently, some facilities that were completed by December of 2011 but that were not visible in the NAIP imagery are not included in this data set. Additionally, the data set does include several facilities that were reliably identified and located with supporting documents even though the finished facilities were not visible in the NAIP imagery (as of last date of acquisition). Status: Progress: Planned Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: Annually (when more up-to-date NAIP imagery becomes available) Spatial_Domain: Description_of_Geographic_Extent: Colorado and New Mexico Bounding_Coordinates: West_Bounding_Coordinate: -109.00 East_Bounding_Coordinate: -102.00 North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.00 South_Bounding_Coordinate: 31.00 Keywords: Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None Theme_Keyword: Utility-Scale Solar Facilities Theme_Keyword: Solar Theme_Keyword: Solar Resource Theme_Keyword: Solar Power Theme_Keyword: Solar Farm Theme_Keyword: Solar Facility Theme_Keyword: Energy Theme_Keyword: Renewable Energy Theme_Keyword: Power Theme_Keyword: Power Plant Theme_Keyword: Photovoltaic Theme_Keyword: Concentrating Solar Power Theme_Keyword: PV Theme_Keyword: MW Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None Place_Keyword: Colorado Place_Keyword: New Mexico Place_Keyword: United States Place_Keyword: USA Temporal: Temporal_Keyword_Thesaurus: None Temporal_Keyword: 2011 Access_Constraints: Contact Distributor. Use_Constraints: Contact Distributor. Point_of_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) Contact_Person: Drew Ignizio Contact_Position: Applications Software Specialist (GIS), Contractor to USGS Contact_Address: Address_Type: Mailing and physical Address: U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) Address: 2150 Centre Avenue, Bldg C City: Fort Collins State_or_Province: CO Postal_Code: 80526-8118 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 970-226-9213 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: dignizio@usgs.gov Data_Set_Credit: Ignizio, D. A., N. B. Carr Native_Data_Set_Environment: Microsoft Windows Version 7; ESRI ArcGIS Desktop 10, Service Pack: 2 (build 10.0.2.3200); Google Earth (version 6.1.0.5001); Bing Maps (version 6.3, www.bing.com/maps) Data_Quality_Information: Attribute_Accuracy: Attribute_Accuracy_Report: Every effort was made to find the most reliable source documentation possible to identify the location of and retrieve attribute values for each facility. Whenever possible, documentation from the site developer or utility company associated with a project was used. The source information/documents used to locate and provide attribute values for each facility are listed for each feature in the "SourceInfo" field. URL links included in the attribute table were visited to verify the solar facility attribution for accuracy (as of January 2012) by GIS staff at the FORT. Logical_Consistency_Report: All polygons are complete. Multi-part polygons do exist in the data-- certain facilities have multiple polygons associated with them. Polygon outlines were individually inspected by GIS staff at the FORT to check for accuracy and completeness. Completeness_Report: Every effort was made to include all identifiable solar facilities greater than 0.5 MW located within Colorado and New Mexico, either complete or under construction that could be reliably located. Locating and documenting these facilities is particularly challenging due to the rapidly changing landscape with regard to new development, and the fact that plans are often modified or cancelled after a project is announced. Sites that were confirmed to have been built but that could not be precisely located are not included. Despite the effort put into locating all the facilities within the 2-state region, it is possible that some facilities were missed. The Utility-Scale Solar Projects in the United States Operating, Under Construction, or Under Development (11/30/2011) document released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) served as the starting point to locate and digitize solar facilities. All facilities on the SEIA list within Colorado and New Mexico were researched to find source documentation (permitting documents, press releases, and original information from facility developers and power purchasers) to assist in finding the most precise location of the facilities. Facilities listed in the SEIA document that could not be reliably located are not included in the data set. Additional solar facilities not present in the SEIA document that were reliably located using other source information do appear in the data set. The source used to identify each solar facility is included as an attribute for each feature users are advised to consult these sources for additional information. The majority of the sites have a generating capacity of 1 MW or greater, although several facilities with an output capacity less than 1 MW were included in the data set after being incidentally identified in the imagery or related supporting documents. These facilities can be identified by the values in the Size_MW field and still represent solar projects of a significant size (greater than or equal to .5 MW in size). Facilities with a generating capacity less than 0.5 MW are not included in the data set. With the exception of part of the facility at the Denver Federal Center, all the facilities represented in the data set are ground-mounted solar installations. Positional_Accuracy: Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy: Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report: Polygonal boundaries represent the full extent of each solar facility site, unless otherwise noted. When visible, linear features such as fences or road lines were used to delineate the full extent of the solar facility. All related equipment including buildings, power substations, and other associated infrastructure were included within the solar facility. If solar infrastructure was indistinguishable from adjacent infrastructure, or if solar panels were installed on existing building tops, only the collecting equipment was digitized. The Polygon field indicates whether the "equipment footprint" or the full site outline was digitized. The spatial accuracy of features that represent site perimeters or an equipment footprint is estimated at +/- 10 meters. Facilities under construction or not fully visible in the NAIP imagery at the time of digitization (December 2011) are represented by an approximate site outline based on the best available information and documenting materials. The spatial accuracy of these facilities cannot be estimated without more up to date imagery users are advised to consult more recent imagery as it becomes available. Lineage: Source_Information: Source_Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: USDA-FSA-APFO Publication_Date: 2011 Publication_Time: Unknown Title: 2011 NAIP Imagery (1 meter GSD) for Colorado Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: remote-sensing image Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Salt Lake City, Utah Publisher: USDA_FSA_APFO Aerial Photography Field Office Online_Linkage: GIS Service: http://gis.apfo.usda.gov/arcgis/services Type_of_Source_Media: Aerial Imagery Source_Time_Period_of_Content: Time_Period_Information: Range_of_Dates/Times: Beginning_Date: 20110702 Ending_Date: 20110922 Source_Currentness_Reference: Aerial Photography Date Source_Citation_Abbreviation: (NAIP Colorado) Source_Contribution: Spatial location and some attributes Source_Information: Source_Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: USDA-FSA-APFO Publication_Date: 2011 Publication_Time: Unknown Title: 2011 NAIP Imagery (1 meter GSD) for New Mexico Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: remote-sensing image Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Salt Lake City, Utah Publisher: USDA_FSA_APFO Aerial Photography Field Office Online_Linkage: GIS Service: http://gis.apfo.usda.gov/arcgis/services Type_of_Source_Media: Aerial Imagery Source_Time_Period_of_Content: Time_Period_Information: Range_of_Dates/Times: Beginning_Date: 20110505 Ending_Date: 20110621 Source_Currentness_Reference: Aerial Photography Date Source_Citation_Abbreviation: (NAIP New Mexico) Source_Contribution: Spatial location and some attributes Source_Information: Source_Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: Solar Energy Industries Association Publication_Date: 2011 Publication_Time: Unknown Title: UtilityScale Solar Projects in the United States Operating, Under Construction, or Under Development Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Publication Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Unknown Publisher: Solar Energy Industries Association Online_Linkage: http://www.seia.org/galleries/pdf/Major%20Solar%20Projects.pdf Type_of_Source_Media: PDF Document Source_Time_Period_of_Content: Time_Period_Information: Single_Date/Time: Calendar_Date: 20111130 Source_Currentness_Reference: Current SEIA list of Utility-Scale Solar Facilities as of 11/30/2011 Source_Citation_Abbreviation: SEIA List Source_Contribution: Names and attributes of solar facilities Process_Step: Process_Description: Solar facility locations were heads-up digitized from 2011 true color NAIP imagery (1-meter resolution) by zooming into identified locations and tracing either the perimeter of the entire facility, or in some cases, the footprint of solar panels/solar collectors. For facilities not visible in NAIP imagery, the approximate site boundary was collected. Process_Date: 201112 Spatial_Data_Organization_Information: Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector Spatial_Reference_Information: Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition: Planar: Map_Projection: Map_Projection_Name: USA Contiguous Albers Equal Area Conic Albers_Conical_Equal_Area: Standard_Parallel: 29.5000 Standard_Parallel: 45.5000 Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -96.000 Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 37.5000 False_Easting: 0.0000 False_Northing: 0.0000 Planar_Coordinate_Information: Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: coordinate pair Coordinate_Representation: Abscissa_Resolution: 0.25 Ordinate_Resolution: 0.25 Planar_Distance_Units: Meters Geodetic_Model: Horizontal_Datum_Name: GCS North American 1983 Ellipsoid_Name: GRS_1980 Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.000000 Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257224 Entity_and_Attribute_Information: Detailed_Description: Entity_Type: Entity_Type_Label: Utility-Scale Solar Power Facilities, Colorado and New Mexico (Attribute Table) Entity_Type_Definition: Attribute Table for Vector Data Set Entity_Type_Definition_Source: Producer defined Attribute: Attribute_Label: OBJECTID Attribute_Definition: Internal feature number. Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. Attribute: Attribute_Label: SHAPE Attribute_Definition: Feature Geometry. Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Description of feature geometry (polygon). Attribute: Attribute_Label: FACILITY Attribute_Definition: Solar Facility Name Attribute_Definition_Source: Producer defined Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Name/identification of the solar power facility. Attribute: Attribute_Label: SIZE_MW Attribute_Definition: Reported production capacity / size of the solar facility in MegaWatts Attribute_Definition_Source: Producer defined Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Reported production capacity / size of the solar facility in MegaWatts Attribute: Attribute_Label: TYPE Attribute_Definition: Type of solar power technology employed by facility Attribute_Definition_Source: Producer defined Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: Photovoltaic Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Photovoltaic panels being used at site. Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: Producer defined Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: Concentrated PV Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Concentrated photovoltaic technology being used at site. Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: Producer defined Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: Photovoltaic / Concentrated PV Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Photovoltaic panels and concentrated photovoltaic technology being used at site. Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: Producer defined Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: Photovoltaic Storage Project Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Photovoltaic panels being used at site. Public Service Company New Mexico (PNM) solar energy storage test site. Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: Producer defined Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: Parabolic Trough Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Parabolic trough concentrating solar power (CSP) technology being used at site. Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: Producer defined Attribute: Attribute_Label: LOCATION Attribute_Definition: General location of solar facility (city name, county, etc.) Attribute_Definition_Source: Producer defined Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Location of facility. Attribute: Attribute_Label: STATE Attribute_Definition: Two-letter state abbreviation for the state where the facility is located. Attribute_Definition_Source: Producer defined Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Two-letter state abbreviation for the state where the facility is located. Attribute: Attribute_Label: STATUS Attribute_Definition: Status of the facility as of December 2011 (i.e., is the facility operational/running, under construction with a scheduled completion, offline, etc.) When known, the date the facility came online is noted. Attribute_Definition_Source: Producer defined Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Status of the facility as of December 2011 Attribute: Attribute_Label: YearOnline Attribute_Definition: Year the solar facility came online. Attribute_Definition_Source: Producer defined Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Year the solar facility came online. Attribute: Attribute_Label: SourceInfo Attribute_Definition: URL to source documentation used to identify, locate, and obtain attribute information for each solar facility. Attribute_Definition_Source: Producer defined Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Source documentation used to identify and locate facility. Attribute: Attribute_Label: Polygon Attribute_Definition: Additional information about the polygonal feature representing a solar facility. Attribute_Definition_Source: Producer defined Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: APPROXIMATE SITE OUTLINE = Site was located based on documents but development was either incomplete or not visible in imagery. These sites were located with a high degree of confidence based on source information but should be reviewed in future imagery. EQUIPMENT FOOTPRINT = Site boundary represents the footprint of visible panels/solar collecting devices at a solar facility. This category is used in instances where it was not feasible to collect the entire site, such as where solar panels were installed on existing building tops or where associated solar infrastructure was indistinguishable from other types of infrastructure near the solar collecting equipment. SITE OUTLINE = Site boundary represents the extent of a solar facility site, rather than just an outline of visible equipment. Site outline is accurate based on documents and visible development at time of digitization. When visible, linear features such as fence or road lines were used to delineate the extent of the solar facility. All related facilities such as buildings, power substations, and other associated infrastructure were included within the solar facility site. Overview_Description: Entity_and_Attribute_Overview: Please see the detailed Entity/Attribute section for a complete description of all the fields contained in the attribute table. Please note that two facilities are included in this data set that do not contain information for all of the attribute fields. These facilities were located (i.e., visible) in the imagery during the process of capturing other facilities, however no identification materials could be found to provide additional information about capacity, construction date, etc. They are included in the data set under the logic that they may still be useful to users of the data set even without this additional information. Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: See the detailed Entity/Attribute section. Distribution_Information: Distributor: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Address: Address_Type: Mailing Address: USGS Information Services Address: Box 25286, Denver Federal Center City: Denver State_or_Province: CO Postal_Code: 80225 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: http://answers.usgs.gov Resource_Description: USGS Data Series 693 Distribution_Liability: Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also contains copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. This database, identified as DS 693, has been approved for release and publication by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Although this database has been subjected to rigorous review and is substantially complete, the USGS reserves the right to revise the data pursuant to further analysis and review. Furthermore, it is released on condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system, or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. The U.S. Geological Survey shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. Standard_Order_Process: Digital_Form: Digital_Transfer_Information: Format_Name: Digital Data Set, ESRI Shapefile, SHP Format_Version_Number: ESRI ArcGIS, Version 10 File_Decompression_Technique: Zip Archive (unzip with WinZip, GNUzip, 7zip, or similar program) Digital_Transfer_Option: Online_Option: Computer_Contact_Information: Network_Address: Network_Resource_Name: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/693/ Fees: None. Metadata_Reference_Information: Metadata_Date: 20111215 Metadata_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) Contact_Person: GIS metadata specialist Contact_Address: Address_Type: Mailing and physical Address: U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) Address: 2150 Centre Avenue, Bldg C City: Fort Collins State_or_Province: CO Postal_Code: 80526-8118 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 970-226-9213 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: dignizio@usgs.gov Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001.1-1999