How do I add layers to a map from energy market websites?

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When conducting an analysis such as energy market research or when siting new power plants or industrial facilities, it is critical to understand the geographic context of your assets. Maptitude makes it easy to geographically evaluate the risks and opportunities in today’s energy markets. For example, you may want to explore wind potential when choosing sites for wind turbines.
 
There are many sources of data for energy markets including the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This exercise will walk you through downloading and mapping the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) map layer for onshore 50 meter tower wind potential.
 
The following steps outline how to add layers downloaded from other websites:
  1. Go to https://maps.nrel.gov/wind-prospector/ and use the WIND Prospector to find data for your area of interest.  Download the data in the “shapefile” format.
  2. Once the file is downloaded, open the ZIP file and extract its contents to a folder on your computer.
  3. In Maptitude, use Create-a-Map Wizard to create a general purpose map of the state you chose in step 2.
  4. Choose Map>Layers, click Add Layer, and change the file type from Geographic File (*.cdf;*.dbd) to Esri Shapefile (*.shp).
  5. Browse for the folder where you extracted the Shapefile, choose the Shapefile, and click Open.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Choose Map>Thematic Mapping>Color
  8. Choose WPC from the Field drop-down list and click OK. Maptitude creates a color theme displaying the Wind Power Classification where 0 is poor and 7 is superb. You may want to change the style for the layer to have no border to better see the theme. You may also want to move the layer up in the drawing order so that it does not obscure other map layers.

Below is a list of possible usable sources for the above:
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