SolarVista

Heat Image generated by MATLAB

Inspiration

The inspiration for our project was the recent changes in the climate which have been getting more extreme over the past few years. the need for renewable energy where it could be effectively be applied has increased exponentially.

What it does

A platform designed to help NGOs, governments, and energy planners identify optimal locations for solar power installations in areas with high . The app leverages satellite data and real-time community input to map regions with high solar energy potential, facilitating informed decision-making in the planning and development of solar power grids.

How we built it

We built through a variety of programming languages in which the Next js worked as the full stack application by handling the backend and the frontend while the python model runs the most important machine learning model that finds the solar potential areas.

Challenges we ran into

1)Troubleshooting API errors 2)Transferring data between python and Nextjs files 3)Incorporating a LLM and OpenAPi model 4)Utilizing MATLAB for image visualization

Accomplishments that we're proud of

1)Created a model which takes a user entered value and outputs three locations suitable for setting up solar power 2)Incorporating multiple API’s into one application 3)Fetching data between python and Nextjs through Flask

What we learned

1) we learnt about the use of flask 2) how does the MATLAB software work

What's next for SolarVista

Expanding to Other Renewable Sources: In the long term, we’re looking to go beyond just solar data. We plan to integrate wind and hydro power potential into SolarVista, so the platform becomes a complete tool for renewable energy planning. This will help communities and planners choose the best energy source based on what’s most abundant in their area. Developing a Mobile App: We also want to make SolarVista more accessible for local communities by developing a mobile app. This would allow users to easily provide on-the-ground data, even in areas with limited internet access. It’s a way to make sure that everyone can contribute, no matter where they are.