OnSSET
Open Source Spatial Electrification Tool
OnSSET is a GIS-based model for electricity access planning in developing countries. Each Starter Data Kit contains geospatial and socio-economic input files ready for use directly in OnSSET, grouped into three categories.
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Socio-Demographics
Scale
Source
Socio-economic specifications
Country-specific
CCG / country-specific
Population count
100 m or 1 km
WorldPop
Settlements
Country-specific
Khavari et al.
Physical & Environment
Scale
Source
Elevation model (DEM)
~90 m
NASA EarthData / SRTMGL3 — requires free NASA account
Solar irradiation
Global
Global Solar Atlas
Solar hourly profile
Country-specific
RenewableNinja API
Wind speed
Global
Global Wind Atlas (hub heights: 100 m, 150 m, 200 m)
Wind hourly profile
Country-specific
RenewableNinja API
Land cover
Global
MODIS MCD12Q1
Infrastructure
Scale
Source
Medium voltage lines
Country-specific
GridFinder
Nighttime lights
Country-specific
WorldPop / VIIRS NTL v2.1/2.2
Roads
Country-specific
OpenStreetMap (OSM)
Travel time
Country-specific
Malaria Atlas Project
The table below summarises all available datasets, their sources, and whether they are required or optional for a basic OnSSET model run.
Dataset
Description
Source
Status
Notes
Socio-economic specs
Household energy consumption tiers, willingness to pay, and projected GDP growth.
CCG / country-specific
Required
Population count
Spatial distribution of inhabitants for estimating electricity demand and identifying clusters.
WorldPop
Required
100 m or 1 km
Elevation model (DEM)
Digital Elevation Model used to determine terrain slope and grid extension suitability.
NASA EarthData (SRTMGL3)
Optional
Requires NASA account
Solar irradiation
Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) — primary input for sizing solar PV installations.
Global Solar Atlas
Required
Solar hourly profile
Hourly solar generation profile for sizing PV-based minigrids.
RenewableNinja API
Required
Wind speed
Wind speed data at various hub heights for assessing wind energy potential.
Global Wind Atlas
Required
Default: 100 m hub height
Wind hourly profile
Hourly wind generation profile for sizing wind-based minigrids.
RenewableNinja API
Required
Land cover
17-category classification applying penalties to grid extension cost calculations.
MODIS (MCD12Q1)
Optional
Medium voltage lines
Existing MV grid infrastructure for calculating cost-effective connection points.
GridFinder
Required
Nighttime lights
NTL intensity used as proxy for electrification and economic activity.
WorldPop / VIIRS NTL v2.1/2.2
Required
Roads
Road network proximity for estimating logistics costs of equipment transport.
OpenStreetMap (OSM)
Optional
Travel time
Travel time to nearest urban centre for estimating diesel transport costs.
Malaria Atlas Project
Optional
Settlements
Pre-clustered population settlements calibrated to 2016 values.
Khavari et al.
Optional