French Elevation Models
Introduction
In March 2025, 1m resolution DTM data was added to the French Elevation models in windPRO. This update follows a previous update from late March 2021, where the French digital terrain models (DTMs) were updated with 5m and 25m resolution data covering France and its overseas territories. These DTMs (MNT - Modèle Numérique de Terrain) are available with windPRO – four covering the whole of France in 1m, 5m, 25m, and 75m grid resolutions – and others from three selected administrative regions in high resolution: 5m grid or 10m grid resolutions. Elevation models from the French overseas territories are also available in 1m, 5m and 25m grid resolutions, see the table below. These French DTM datasets are freely available for windPRO users with an active subscription.
Our 1m resolution elevation data is primarily intended for detailed photomontage modeling, such as for PV-plants. This high-resolution data is ideal for creating accurate and realistic visual representations of projects, which can be crucial for planning and presentation purposes. Additionally, the 1m resolution data is used in wind farm analysis, where it helps in providing precise terrain information for better project planning and execution.
Dataset Overview
- Spatial Coverage:
- Mainland France and Corsica (1m, 5m, 25m, 75m),
- 3 regions: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpe, Bretagne, Nord-Pas de Calais (5m and 10m)
- Overseas territories (1m, 5m, 25m)
- Resolution: Area-dependent: 1m, 5m, 10m, 25m, 75m (see table below)
- Data-type: Digital Terrain Model (DTM)
- Coordinate systems: Varies (see table below)
- Version: Data downloaded in spring 2019, spring 2021, spring 2024 and winter 2024-2025.
- Vertical Accuracy:
- Varies with data acquisition technique used and dependent of type of landscape (see RGE-Alti description below, section 2.2 and Appendix A). For 1-m grids:
- Where LiDAR technology is used: 0.2m - 0.5m (flood and coastal areas, and on large forest areas)
- Where radar technology is used: ~7m (mountain areas with steep slopes, Alps, Pyrenees, Cévennes, Corsica).
- Where aerial photography correlation techniques are used: 0.5 to 0.7m
| Id | Coverage area | Dataset name(s) in windPRO | Grid resolution |
Vertical reference |
Horizontal system (EPSG) |
| 1 | France Mainland and Corsica | France MNT: IGN RGE ALTI® V2.0 – 1m - Metropolitan and Corsica France MNT: IGN RGE ALTI® V2.0 – 5m - Metropolitan and Corsica France MNT: IGN BD ALTI® V2.0 – 25m - Metropolitan and Corsica France MNT: IGN BD ALTI® V2.0 – 75m - Metropolitan and Corsica |
1m 5m 25m 75m |
France: IGN69, tide gauge Marseille Corsica: IGN78, tide gauge Ajaccio |
2154 (Lambert-93) |
| 2 | Mayotte Overseas Département | France MNT: IGN RGE ALTI® V2.0 – 1m - Mayotte France MNT: IGN RGE ALTI® V2.0 – 5m - Mayotte France MNT: IGN BD ALTI® V2.0 – 25m - Mayotte |
1m 5m 25m |
REUN89 | 4471 (UTM38S) |
| 3 | Réunion Overseas Département | France MNT: IGN RGE ALTI® V2.0 – 1m - Réunion France MNT: IGN RGE ALTI® V2.0 – 5m - Réunion France MNT: IGN BD ALTI® V2.0 – 25m - Réunion |
1m 5m 25m |
MAYO53 | 2975 (UTM40S) |
| 4 | Saint Pierre and Miquelon | France MNT: IGN RGE ALTI® V2.0 – 1m - Saint Pierre and Miquelon France MNT: IGN RGE ALTI® V2.0 – 5m - Saint Pierre and Miquelon France MNT: IGN BD ALTI® V2.0 – 25m - Saint Pierre and Miquelon |
1m 5m 25m |
STPM50 | 4467 (UTM21N) |
| 4 | Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy & Saint-Martin |
France MNT: IGN RGE ALTI® V2.0 – 1m - Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy & Saint-Martin France MNT: IGN RGE ALTI® V2.0 – 5m - Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy & Saint-Martin France MNT: IGN BD ALTI® V2.0 – 25m - Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy & Saint-Martin |
1m 5m 25m |
Guadeloupe: GUAD88 Martinique: MART87 Saint-Barthélemy: GUAD88SB Saint-Martin: GUAD88SM |
All: 32620 (UTM20) Except 1m DTM: S-Barthélemy S-Martin 5490 |
| 5 | French Guiana | France MNT: IGN RGE ALTI® V2.0 – 1m - French Guiana France MNT: IGN RGE ALTI® V2.0 – 5m - French Guiana France MNT: IGN BD ALTI® V2.0 – 25m - French Guiana |
1m 5m 25m |
2972 | |
| 6 | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes DTM/MNT Model | 5m | IGN69, tide gauge Marseille | 2154 (Lambert-93) |
| 7 | Bretagne | Bretagne DTM/MNT Model | 5m | IGN69, tide gauge Marseille | 2154 (Lambert-93) |
| 8 | Nord-Pas de Calais | Nord-Pas de Calais DTM/MNT Model | 10m | IGN69, tide gauge Marseille | 2154 (Lambert-93) |
The above IGN models are versions of the national elevation models of France (RGE Alti and BD Alti). These models are released from the Institut National de l’Information Geographique et Forestiére (IGN). Additional dataset documentation is available in the product-descriptions from IGN:
Usage Notes and Known-Issues
- High and very-high -resolution: Please consider that the 1m, 5m or 10m grid data are at a quite high resolution - so processing and downloading large areas may be a bit slow. We recommend that you use highest resolution data in a limited area around the site (say with a boundary of a few kilometres), then merge your elevation model with coarser resolution data. This is done very easily in the 'elevation grid object'.
- Versions: Data in windPRO were accessed, downloaded and adapted for windPRO distribution during spring 2019 with a significant update in spring 2021 and March 2025.
- Models:
- Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes DTM/MNT Model – 5m: Elevation from five departments are available: Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal, Loire, Haute-Loire and Allier. Data is from 2016.
- Bretagne DTM/MNT Model: 5m resolution – with data obtained in the following years: Morbihan (2016), lle et Vilaine (2017), Côtes d'Armor (2015), Finistère (2015).
- Nord-Pas de Calais DTM/MNT Model: 10m resolution. Model was derived from stereo-imagery during years 2012-2013.
- Post-processing: For the overseas territories, elevations below -0.99m have been set to void.
- Known-issue: "France MNT: IGN RGE ALTI(R) Version 2.0 – 5m - Metropolitan and Corsica", a few areas are missing within departements "56: Morbihan", "57: Moselle", "67: Bas-Rhin" and "88 Vosges". If you are working within these areas, please patch the data using the 25m dataset instead. The missing data is by design of the "RGE ALTI® V2.0" specification from 2015, where areas not covered by high-resolution data are not supplemented by the "BD ALTI® 25m". IGN updates the data with new acquisitions several times a year but does not have any information on when these missing areas will be available (information from February 2021). See image below for location of the areas (shown with red circles).
- Known-issue: If you are working in countries that are neighbor-states to France, then you might see the French datasets in the list of available elevation data. If your project is far away from the border, you might not recieve any elevation-data from the French elevation dataset (as the raster-dataset hold empty elevation values for the location). This issue is caused by limitations in our data coverage check within windPRO online services.
Availability from within windPRO
The data are available directly from within windPRO and may be accessed from the online-services from the following objects:
- Line Object (with purpose to height contour lines)
- Elevation Grid Object
A Note on Download Area Size Restrictions:
- 1-meter grid data - the download area is limited to 6 km x 6 km
- 5-meter grid data - the downloaded area is limited to 10 km x 10 km
This is done to keep the files at a usable and workable size. The data within the elevation object may be extended with coarser data if a bigger area is needed.
Attributions
These products belong to the open data of France. Please use the following attributions when using one of the datasets:
- French IGN DTM/MNT Models – 1m, 5m, 25m, 75m: Contains elevation data from the Institut National de l’Information Geographique et Forestiére (IGN) – 05/2019, 03/2021, 03/2025. Distribution through EMD and windPRO.
- France - Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes DTM/MNT Model – 5m: Contains elevation data from the Centre Régional Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes de l'Information Géographique (CRAIG) – 05/2019. Distribution through EMD and windPRO.
- France - Bretagne DTM/MNT Model – 5m: Contains elevation data from GéoBretagne – 05/2019. Distribution through EMD and windPRO.
- France – Nord-Pas de Calais – 10m: Contains elevation data from the Plateforme Publique de l'Information Géographique de la Région Nord - Pas de Calais (PPIGE) – 05/2019. Distribution through EMD and windPRO.
Acknowledgements
- The French public, state (with IGN as its representative) and regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bretagne and Nord-Pas de Calais are thanked for producing these digital elevation datasets and disseminating them with an open-data licence - and thus aiding the development of renewable energy – and wind energy in particular.
- Integration of this dataset into EMD services was co-supported through the InnoWind project (www.innowind.dk) which is co-funded by the Danish Innovation Fund.
License
Unless otherwise stated, these data have been released under the French License Ouverte / Open License – a license used for open data from the State of France. The license is designed to be compatible with Creative Commons Licenses, Open Government License (UK) and the Open Data Commons Attribution License read pdf here. It is required that the source of information is mentioned when using these data – see above.
External Links
- Republique Francaise - Institut National de l’Information Geographique et Forestiére (IGN): https://geoservices.ign.fr/
- Centre Régional Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes de l'Information Géographique (CRAIG): https://www.craig.fr/
- Le partenariat GéoBretagne: https://cms.geobretagne.fr
- Equipe PPIGE Plateforme Publique de l'Information Géographique - Nord-Pas de Calais: https://www.ppige-npdc.fr/portail/geocatalogue