Viderum spun off as a company from Open Knowledge International in 2016 with the aim to provide services and products to further expand the reach of open data around the world. Last week they made a great step in this direction by powering the launch of the Energy Data Service portal, which will make Denmark’s energy data available to everyone. This press release has been reposted from Viderum‘s website at http://www.viderum.com/blog/2017/06/17/new-open-energy-data-portal-set-to-spark-innovation.

Image credit: Jürgen Sandesneben, Flickr CC BY

A revolutionary new online portal, which gives open access to Denmark’s energy data, is set to spark innovation in smart, data-led solutions for energy efficiency. The Energy Data Service, launched on 17 June 2017 by the CEO of Denmark’s state-owned gas and electricity provider Energinet, and the Minister for Energy, Utilities and Climate, will share near real-time aggregated energy consumption data for all Danish municipalities, as well data on CO2emissions, energy production and the electricity market.

Developers, entrepreneurs and companies will be able to access and use the data to create apps and other smart data services that empower consumers to use energy more efficiently and flexibly, saving them money and cutting their carbon footprint.

Viderum is the technology partner behind the Energy Data Service. It developed the portal using CKAN, the leading data management platform for open data, originally developed by non-profit organisation Open Knowledge International.

Sebastian Moleski, CEO of Viderum said: “Viderum is excited to be working with Energinet at the forefront of the open data revolution to make Denmark’s energy data available to everyone via the Energy Data Service portal. The portal makes a huge amount of complex data easily accessible, and we look forward to developing its capabilities further in the future, eventually providing real-time energy and CO2 emissions data.”

Energinet hopes that the Energy Data Service will be a catalyst for the digitalisation of the energy sector and for green innovation and economic growth, both in Denmark and beyond.

“As we transition to a low carbon future, we need to empower consumers to be smarter with how they use energy. The Energy Data Service will enable the development of innovative data based solutions to make this possible. For example, an electric car that knows when there is spare capacity on the electricity grid, making it a good time to charge itself.Or an app that helps local authorities understand energy consumption patterns in social housing, so they can make improvements that will save money and cut carbon”, said Peder Ø. Andreasen, CEO of Energinet.

The current version of the Energy Data Service includes the following features:

  • API (Application Programme Interface) access to all raw data, which makes it easy to use in data applications and services
  • Downloadable data sets in regular formats (CSV and Excel)
  • Helpful user guides
  • Contextual information and descriptions of data sets
  • Online discussion forum for questions and knowledge sharing
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