EIA’s new energy visualization widget embeds interactive charts and maps on any website
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's new energy visualization widget allows users to display interactive visualizations of current energy data pulled from EIA's data application programming interface (API) on their own websites. Using the API browser, users can discover how EIA's energy data series can be charted, mapped, or broken down into their related components.
The EIA data interface allows users to create maps, line charts, pie charts, and bar graphs. The visualizations are configured to always show the latest EIA data, so the embedded charts and maps are always up to date.
For example, EIA's new widget tool allows users to embed visualizations showing monthly and quarterly net electricity generation for the United States, including the map shown above, on their own websites. When a visitor clicks on the map, the visualization also retrieves and graphs that show the generation fuel for each U.S. state, how that state's electricity supplies are generated over time by different fuel sources, and how that state compares with other states. For example, the effects of California's current drought can be seen with a decline in hydroelectric generation.
In another example, EIA's new widget allows users to embed U.S. petroleum production data in an interactive world map (one of several base maps offered by the tool). U.S. petroleum output can be easily compared to other countries' production by selecting specific nations on the map, which results in a line graph showing the output of each country chosen.
A wide range of EIA customers, including policymakers and their staff, journalists working on energy articles, researchers keeping up with the latest energy trends, students gathering information, and members of the public interested in energy issues, can benefit from the new EIA widget.
The energy visualization tool joins the EIA Excel add-in and EIA's data API as part of the agency's ongoing efforts to share more of its energy data in easily updated, customizable ways. This version incorporates comments received during a beta testing phase. These tools can be found on the Open Data section of EIA's website.
Principal contributors: Mark Elbert, Tom Doggett