Map It 📍

INTRODUCTION (Click Me)

Welcome to our interactive launchpad and hub for contributing to power grid mapping via OpenStreetMap! Click on a country or state below to start mapping power infrastructure directly in iD or JOSM. If this is your first time grid mapping, please go through the JOSM Starter-Kit or iD Starter-Kit. You can use the #MapYourGrid hashtag in your changeset to show your support for our initiative when you make an edit! To start mapping, please open JOSM, ensure that remote control is activated in Preferences and load your data:

1. The Default Transmission (50 kV+) pulls all power infrastructure relevant for the transmission grid. For more details about which data is pulled via Overpass please read our OpenStreetMap Grid Definitions. Distribution grids are barely visible in satellite data and should therefore only be mapped in individual cases.
2. The Osmose, Global Energy Monitor, and Wikidata buttons provide hint layer data, which you can read about in our page Strategies. Please note that hint layers only work at a national level.

Issue type: Lone power tower or pole (Class 1) Default: Unfinished power transmission line (Class 2) (recommended for beginners ⭐) Connection between different voltages (Class 3) None power node on power way (Class 4) Missing power tower or pole (Class 5) Unfinished power distribution line (Class 6) Unmatched voltage of line on substation (Class 7) Power support line management suggestion (Class 8) missing power=line in the area (Class 95)

Warning: GeoJSON file. "Open" in JOSM, but do not "upload" this layer

Data type: All power-related infrastructure Substations Power Plants

Data type: Rejected power plants

Discover Good First Lines to Get Started

Map Legend for the recommended MapCSS (Click Me)

JOSM Hotkeys (Click Me)

These JOSM hotkeys have proven helpful for grid mapping:

Hotkey	Function Description
S	Select tool (for selecting objects)
A	Add tool (for drawing new nodes or ways)
CTRL+C	Copy selected objects
CTRL+V	Paste objects from clipboard
CTRL+F	Search (Needs expert mode activated under View)
CTRL+Z	Undo last action
CTRL+Y	Redo last undone action
CTRL+SHIFT+C	Copy coordinates of the selected point(s) to clipboard
CTRL+W	Switch between activated Map Paint Style and Wireframe
CTRL+H	History (opens history dialog for selected objects)
Shift+V	Validate (runs data validation on the current layer)
Tabulator	Show/hide Sidebar and Edit toolbar

Mapping Guidelines

The following list provides the main good practices for mapping different power infrastructure in OpenStreetMap:

• Power networks
• Power networks/Guidelines
• Power networks/Guidelines/Power lines
• Power networks/Guidelines/Substations
• Power generation/Guidelines/Hydropower
• Power generation/Guidelines/Solar plants
• Power networks/Guidelines/Interconnector
• Clarifying power=pole vs power=tower

Local Communities, Projects and Code of Mappers

Before you start mapping, please find out about the mapping restrictions in the respective country. In some countries, the mapping of transmission lines is not permitted. Get in touch with local users by finding out about your local communities and local projects. If you can't find a local community, please send us an email and we will help you set up a local group.

By following our Code of Mappers, we collectively protect the integrity of the OpenStreetMap platform, foster trust with communities, and unlock the power of open data for a more resilient and just energy future. Please do NOT copy any data from hint layer directly into your OpenStreetMap data layer. Every data point in your OpenStreetMap data layer must be manually set and verified. The metadata must also be verified against compatible licensed sources or by people on the ground. If you cannot verify the data using satellite images or any other compatible source, please do not add this information from hint layers. This may seem like a high burden at first, but it ensures the high quality of OpenStreetMap.

Risk of Double Mapping

Please bear in mind that you have only downloaded transmission grid data for the country, state or province that you selected. This includes power plants, generators, substations, power towers and transmission lines. Other OpenStreetMap objects, such as streets, will not be visible. Therefore, never use our tools to map objects other than those loaded via Overpass, as otherwise other mappers will have to clean up the duplicate data.

Some cross-border transmission lines will still be visible beyond the pink administrative boundaries. However, to edit these, you will need to load both countries. Never map beyond the pink administrative boundaries, as this will most likely result in infrastructure being mapped twice.

Join the Chat

We welcome everyone to join our 📍-MapYourGrid discord channel. Here you can ask questions, and interact with the community. For mapping specific questions and to participate in our free personalized training, please join our 📍-MapYourGrid-support-and-training channel. We share this server with PyPSA-Earth, a global, open-source energy system model thats uses mainly OpenStreetMap's transmission grid data. Find us also on Bluesky.

Join the Community

We welcome everyone to join our community calls and tutorials, to learn more about the mapping process and the initiative.