The USDA Energy Investments web map contains information regarding USDA programs that provide assistance to renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. The map displays investment location, type of energy investment, amount of assistance provided and the administering USDA program. The energy investment data is also summarized by state, county and congressional districts to display total number of investments and total dollar amounts obligated by USDA. For more information you can review the USDA Energy Investment Report.
The Energy Investment Map is an interactive map application that displays a variety of data. The map application is organized into a Map Legend, Interactive Map, and Map Tools.
Using the Map
The data displayed in the map is controlled with the Map Legend. In order to turn layers on and off users can click on the checkbox next to the layer in the Map Legend. Layers in the map change symbols when the map is zoomed in or out.
The Interactive Map displays geographic data and can be navigated by zooming in or out and panning the map. The map can be zoomed in by scrolling the mouse wheel up while hovering over the map or clicking the plus button in the upper left corner of the map. The map can also be zoomed in by holding the shift button while holding the left mouse button down and dragging a rectangle over the map. The map can be zoomed out by scrolling the mouse wheel down or clicking the minus button in the upper left corner of the map.
To view the data for any feature in the map, single click on the feature in the map. This will display the information window. The information window displays all of the features occurring at the location clicked. The different features can be displayed by scrolling through them with the arrows in the upper right corner of the information window. The county data displays a summary of the energy investments in chart and table format. Each feature can be zoomed to by clicking the ‘Zoom to’ link on the bottom of the window.
The Map Tools section contains six tools:
The Toggle Map Size button will maximize the application to fill the entire browser window
The Tools button opens a tool that allows custom filters to be applied to the investments data
The zoom tool zooms the map to a state or the contiguous US
The Reports button will open the Energy Investment Report Tool that allows users to create and export custom reports of the investment data
The About button will display the introduction to the Energy Investment map
The Guide button will open the help page for the investments map
Using the Energy Investment Type Filters Tool
The Energy Investment Type Filters Tool allows users to filter the investments data by different criteria. Users can filter the data by monetary value, program, or year of obligation. Users can also choose a combination of all three filter options. To open the filter tools click the Tools button from the Map Tools.
Using the Zoom Tool
The map tools within the Market tab contain a zoom tool that allows zooming to preset locations. Click the zoom tool to open the interface. The interface contains two sections: States and Custom. The States section contains bookmarks to zoom to a specific state. Click any of the states to zoom to that state. Click ‘Zoom to US Contiguous’ to zoom back out to the contiguous United States.
The Custom tab allows the creation of custom bookmarks. The bookmarks will remain saved when you return to the application at a later date. To create a custom bookmark, first set the map to the desired extent. Click ‘Add Bookmark’ under the Custom Zoom Tab. Type a name for the bookmark and press enter. Clicking on the bookmark will zoom the map to this custom extent.
