Ireland Leads European Space Agency Effort to Demystify Satellite Data Usage in the Wind Energy Sector

TechWorks Marine, a marine data company, today announces the commencement of a €475,000 contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to expand the use of satellite data and products in the renewable wind energy sector in Europe.
Further to Irish wind energy supplying a record 43% of all electricity in Ireland in March, TechWorks Marine are leading a project to establish the current information needs and best practices for the use of satellite earth observation products in the wind energy sector.
As one of Ireland's leading innovators in earth observation products, TechWorks Marine will work to engage a critical mass of key stakeholders to build agreement on the way earth observation-derived information products can be used in the wind industry business processes.
The project, strategically important to both Ireland and Europe, will result in the development of a best practices guide for companies to identify suitable sites for new wind farms, to obtain a deeper scientific understanding of the site conditions, and to enable accurate environmental compliance and monitoring activities.
Operational services already available to companies in this sector include sea turbidity data from Europe's Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 satellites, and offshore wind speed analysis from the Sentinel-1 satellite.
Commenting on the project launch, Charlotte O'Kelly, Managing Director of TechWorks Marine explained, "we have been working commercially in the renewables sector since 2009, and strategically in offshore wind since 2019 providing Metocean surveys to clients. We see a huge value in using satellite data to assist in both on and offshore site development, through the full life cycle of the wind park".
Ms. O' Kelly continued, "working with partners on this project will allow us to integrate satellite data into the entire wind energy infrastructure cycle. Two areas where we are particularly excited about using satellite data are the maximisation of the wind farm output, and the life cycle optimisation".
Recognising TechWorks Marine's expertise in this area, with the company advocating for increased satellite data usage in diverse projects since 2009, Dr. Zoltan Bartalis, Earth Observation Applications Engineer at the European Space Agency said "At ESA we are interested in consolidating the usage of satellite-based Earth Observation information and creating best practices for wind energy applications.
This promotes collaboration, knowledge sharing, standardisation, and innovation, ultimately leading to more effective and sustainable solutions for the industry."
"For this, it is indispensable to achieve a critical mass of users, and we are pleased to start this activity lead by TechWorks Marine, who have excellent ties to relevant industry and public sector stakeholders in Ireland and in the wider region."
The timing of the project start coincides with Dublin hosting the Wind Europe Technology Workshop 2024 in early June. The event will host over 450 wind energy experts from across Europe, detailing the latest innovations within the sector and to tackle the challenges of exploiting this crucial resource.
TechWorks Marine is an established player in earth observation and marine data products, having already won eight contracts from the European Space Agency, and is a participant in the €9 million CAMEO (Creating an Architecture for Manipulating Earth Observation data) project funded through the Government of Ireland's Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund.