Energy peaks and valleys due to similar system profiles

In Europe, a vast majority of PV production comes from residential or C&I sources. Much of that comes from rooftop installations. Due to limited land available for large-scale solar projects, rooftop solar may be critical for Europe’s energy transition. Due to typical energy pricing models, rooftop solar is most economical when building occupants keep the energy. The ROI for rooftop solar is impacted by building size and occupancy.

There are quite a few options on the market to identify rooftop solar opportunities. Some options are publicly available, though they are often not updated frequently. Furthermore, not all utilities have the internal capabilities (e.g., data science teams) or incentive to utilise existing tools.

There is continued opportunity to leverage satellite imagery and other geo-information data to identify potentially suitable rooftops for solar panel installation, accounting for building size and already occupied rooftop features (e.g., HVAC units). Users identified 5 specific needs, each requiring one or more specific geospatial products (geo-requirements):

• User Need 6.1: Map of buildings that are strong candidates for rooftop solar

• User Need 6.2: Quantity of PV output anticipated per building

• User Need 6.3: Quantity of PV output anticipated per occupant/unit

• User Need 6.4: Opportunity for battery usage

• User Need 6.5: Estimated ROI for rooftop solar at building-level