Developing an AI-powered land assessment platform with Uprise Impact
Using artificial intelligence and environmental data to evaluate land suitability for renewable energy technologies and sustainable land development.
Parker Christie, SMART Centre
About the project
Uprise Impact partnered with Conestoga’s SMART Centre to develop a prototype platform that evaluates land suitability for renewable energy technologies and other sustainable uses. The project combined AI with geographic, environmental, and land-use data to help property owners and prospective developers better understand opportunities for land development.
The challenge
Determining whether land is suitable for solar panels, wind turbines, regenerative agriculture, or other sustainable uses requires information from multiple sources. Property owners and developers may face challenges gathering and interpreting environmental conditions, zoning requirements, and existing infrastructure details. Uprise Impact sought to simplify this process through a centralized platform that could analyze land characteristics and identify potential uses.
Approach
- Collected and integrated land data, including floodplain information, soil density, geographic coordinates, solar pathways, and zoning details
- Developed a web platform allowing users to upload satellite imagery, property information, and supporting documentation
- Created an AI system to evaluate land suitability for renewable energy technologies and regenerative agriculture
- Integrated publicly available data sources to supplement user-submitted information
- Developed land profiles to help communicate potential development opportunities to interested parties
Results
- Delivered a prototype web platform for uploading property information and generating land profiles
- Developed a custom AI system to assess land suitability based on environmental and geographic data
- Enabled users to document property features not captured in satellite imagery, including irrigation systems and recent developments
- Integrated publicly available information to support land suitability assessments
- Established a foundation for further platform development and expanded AI capabilities
Why it matters
- Simplifies access to information needed for renewable energy and sustainable land-use planning
- Helps property owners and developers identify potential opportunities for solar, wind, and regenerative agriculture projects
- Supports more informed land development decisions through data-driven assessments
- Creates opportunities to expand evaluations to additional technologies and land uses
- Provides a scalable foundation for continued research into AI-supported environmental planning