WREF 2012: OPENEI - An Open Energy Data and Information Exchange for International Audiences

Designed to be the world's most comprehensive, open, and collaborative energy information network, Open Energy Information (OpenEI - openei.org) supplies essential energy data to decision makers and supports a global energy transformation. The platform, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is intended for global contribution and collaboration. Energy information and data are available on the Internet already, but the resources are dispersed, published in disparate formats, highly variable in quality and usefulness, and difficult to find. OpenEI provides a solution. The open-source Web platform-similar to the Wikipedia platform-provides more than 800 energy data sets and 55,000 pages of information, analyses, tools, images, maps, and other resources in a completely searchable and editable format. OpenEI's international user base spans more than 200 countries. Because the platform is so interactive and easy to contribute to, content is growing daily.