Organised Editing/Activities/Detailing of Solar Infrastructure (Worldwide)
Project Overview
This project is designed to add more data to the worlds solar farms.
This is accomplished by mapping solar panels in higher detail, adding missing solar farms and adding more detailed tagging.
This project converts solar panels to smaller, higher detail areas, and removes solar panel ways. Solar panel nodes may also be converted to areas as part of this project, although it is not the main goal. This is useful for both map rendering, and data consumers who need information about solar panels or solar farms.
If you are contributing, please add your username at the bottom of the wiki page.
How to map
Editing
Use JOSM
Using JOSM is recommended due to the amount of objects needed to be rendered, however any prefered editor can be used. Copying an objects link from overpass turbo results and pasting directly into JOSM, then downloading the surrounding area is the easiest way to find and navigate to areas to map.
Downloading the surroudning area is important to check for potentially mistagged data already existing for the solar panels, or to check and delete old objects that used to be where the solar power plant is currently constructed.
As an area (prefered) or as a node (accepted)
While mapping solar panels as 
Nodes is an accepted way of mapping, as part of this project 
Areas are prefered.
Converting solar panel nodes to areas is currently a low priority as they are often residential rooftop installations that have minimal surface area, and can be hard to accurately map as areas in some parts of the world due to imagery resolution.
To check for solar panels mapped as nodes, see the Solar panels mapped as nodes query.
Solar panels should never be mapped as 
Ways, although some already exist. These should be replaced by areas where possible.
Solar panels over 200m
To find solar panels mapped as ways, use the Solar panels mapped as ways query. Mapping solar power plants with no solar panels or limited detail should be done first. These can be found via the Solar panels over 200m or Solar power plant with no solar panels queries listed below. Solar panels over 200m isn't an error, but they can be refined further. This project keeps track of solar panels over 200m that can't currently be refined further by the tag note=possibly refine to smaller panels if better imagery is available.
Please make sure to use this tag exactly as written on ALL solar panels added over 200m that cannot be further refined with current imagery as this is needed so overpass queries exclude these from future results.
Small rooftop solar panels can be mapped as per these instructions, although they are not within the scope of this project. If a solar power plant or solar panel is missing recommended tags these should be added. If a previously unmapped solar power plant is discovered during this project, it should also be added with as much detail as possible, and mapped in detail.
Use of fixme tag
fixme=map more accurately when aerial imagery becomes available is used where solar panels aren't visible on aerial imagery currently. This tag differs from note=possibly refine to smaller panels if better imagery is available because aerial imagery is likely to become available in the near future, and these should be checked regularly.
To check these see the fixme overpass query.
Common already in use tags are used here, because note=* and fixme=* are understandable by the average mapper without needing to look up this project, its easier for the meaning to be understood and the solar panels to be edited by the majority of users.
Mapping Priority
Tasks should generally be done in this loose order, but if you have a preference please do them first.
- Solar power plants with no solar panels.
- Solar panels mapped as ways
- Solar power plants with limited detail (over 200m solar panels).
- Checking fixme tags.
- (Optional) Solar panels as nodes converted to areas.
Tagging
Project Tag Overview
fixme=map more accurately when aerial imagery becomes available should be used if a solar power plant is not visible on aerial imagery, across multiple sources. This is used to prevent checking a power plant often when it is unable to be refined further. Objects with this tag will be checked occasionally as part of this project using the fixme query. Last checked date tags (check_date=* ) should also be added to objects when fixme=map more accurately when aerial imagery becomes available is added to make the process of checking old fixme=* tags easier.
note=possibly refine to smaller panels if better imagery is available should be added to all solar panels over 200m that cannot be refined further with current imagery. This is important to prevent them showing up in future queries. These will be checked for new imagery less often than fixme=* and mostly serve to track progress and make finding new areas to map easier.
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Please use fixme=map more accurately when aerial imagery becomes available and note=possibly refine to smaller panels if better imagery is available tags as specified, these are how this project keeps track of its progress. Check multiple imagery sources before using these tags. Without these tags, solar power plants and solar panels will need to be checked more times than necessary. |
Solar Power Plants
Solar power plants should be tagged with at least the following tags.
plant:method=photovoltaicplant:source=solarpower=plantplant:output:electricity=yes
If the power plant is still under construction or is not fully visible on aerial imagery, please check multiple imagery sources as some imagery sources are likely to be updated more often than others.
Power plants under construction should be mapped as construction:power=plant instead of power=plant.
Adding fixme=map more accurately when aerial imagery becomes available should also be added as part of this project.
Last checked date tags (check_date=*) should also be added to objects when fixme=map more accurately when aerial imagery becomes available is added.
If the electricity output of the power plant is known, plant:output:electricity=yes should be replaced with the output value, for example plant:output:electricity=1.5 MW. See this wiki page for further documentation.
Watch out for thermal solar power plants to avoid mistagging. These are identifiable by their shape, usually circular. These should be tagged differently, instead of plant:method=photovoltaic, plant:method=thermal should be used. plant:output:heat=* and plant:output:hot_water=* should also be added as well as plant:output:electricity=* if their values are known. See the main wiki page for further info.
Solar power plants should be mapped as an Area or 
Multipolygon around the whole power plant. Nodes can be used but are not ideal for this project. Rooftop solar installations should not have a power plant outline around them, unless they are of significant size.
Solar Panels
Solar panels should are tagged with at least the following tags.
power=generatorgenerator:source=solargenerator:method=photovoltaicgenerator:output:electricity=yesgenerator:type=solar_photovoltaic_panel(unless solar thermal power plant)
Solar mirrors can look very similar on aerial imagery, please ask the community if unsure of the type of solar panel before mapping.
Solar mirrors used in thermal solar power plants have the aditional tag, generator:method=thermal but not generator:type=solar_photovoltaic_panel as the panels themselves have no electrical output and only focus energy. If the output heat (generator:method=thermal) or hot water(generator:output:hot_water=*) values are known these tags should be added too. If solar panels are over 200m long, note=possibly refine to smaller panels if better imagery is available should be added as part of this project. If the electricity output of individual solar panels is known, generator:output:electricity=yes should be replaced with the output value, for example generator:output:electricity=1 kW. See this wiki page for further documentation.
For solar panels are located on a roof, location=roof or alternatively the (less established tag) generator:place=roof can be used. Layer tags can also be used but aren't compulsory, but may improve rendering. For example layer=1 could be added to solar panels on top of a building. If solar panels are floating on water, floating=yes should be added. Solar panels can sometimes be solar tracking. If this is known, add generator:solar:tracking=type of solar tracker or generator:solar:tracking=no. If this value is unknown this tag does not need to be added. See this wiki page for further documentation and values.
Solar panels should be mapped as Areas, Nodes can be used but are not ideal for this project.
Other Info
plant:output:electricity=*
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yes | x W | x kW | x MW | x GW |
generator:output:electricity=*
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yes | x W | x kW | x MW | x GW |
For example, generator:output:electricity=55 MW
Common changeset descriptions.
This is just a guide, use the description you determine is most representative. There is no hashtag currently for this project.
- Add fixme tags to features that need to be refined when aerial imagery is available.
- Map solar panels individually instead of as a single area for whole plant.
- Map solar panels with higher level of detail where possible.
- Add solar panels to solar power plant.
- Change tagging from generator to plant.
- Add plant outline to solar power plant.
Examples
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Mapped Example of A Solar Power Plant
Useful Overpass Querys
Below is a list of useful overpass queries for finding undermapped solar power plants. Please note if a large area is being queried the query timeout may need to be increased. If this is your first time using overpass please see the wiki page for instructions. Using Overpass Turbo is recomemended.
Solar panels over 200m:
[out:json][timeout:120];
way["generator:source"="solar"]["note"!="possibly refine to smaller panels if better imagery is available"]["fixme"!="map more accurately when aerial imagery becomes available"](if: length() > 200 && is_closed())({{bbox}});
out geom;
Solar power plant with no solar panels:
[out:json][timeout:120];
wr["plant:source"="solar"]["fixme"!="map more accurately when aerial imagery becomes available"]({{bbox}});
map_to_area->.plants;
foreach .plants -> .plant
{
(
nwr["generator:source"="solar"](area.plant);
)->.gens;
if (count(nwr) == 0)
{
wr(pivot.plant);
out geom;
}
}
Solar panels mapped as ways:
[out:json][timeout:120];
way["generator:source"="solar"](if:is_closed() == 0)({{bbox}});
(._;>;);
out body;
Solar panels mapped as nodes:
[out:json][timeout:120];
node["generator:source"="solar"]({{bbox}});
out body;
fixme:
[out:json][timeout:25];
nwr["fixme"="map more accurately when aerial imagery becomes available"]({{bbox}});
out geom;
Progress
General progress can be seen via the use of overpass queries, the same queries used for finding power plants to map. No regions of the world are fully completed yet, although Oceania is close. Due to the rate of new solar power plants being constructed, this project is unlikely to ever reach a fully completed state.
Tagfixes
As part of this project there are several proposed tagfixes to clean up solar panel data for data consumers.
Participants
If you would like to be contactd by other OSM contributers about this project please list your OSM account below.
