More than 150 American entrepreneurs, software developers, energy experts, and policy makers came together at the White House on 1 October for an ‘Energy Datapalooza’ gathering, to celebrate new products, services, and apps related to clean energy – all built with freely available data from the US government and other sources.
The event included demonstrations of mobile apps and web-based services, and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu launched a new Vehicles Data Challenge aimed at spurring technologies that can increase fuel efficiency and protect against distracted driving.
The Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) released 20 new datasets and technologies originating from each of its programmes (including Vehicles, Advanced Manufacturing, Biofuels, Fuel Cells). One announcement for the web technology community was the official unveiling of three new government application programming interfaces (APIs) that provide rapid access to raw and frequently updated data. One is for the ‘Find and Compare Cars’ data on the FuelEconomy.gov site.
