# Satellite data for energy and utilities Energy companies and utilities use satellite data to select and monitor generation sites, forecast output from sun and wind, watch grids and pipelines, and synchronise grid measurements with satellite timing. LETO SPACE finds the use case that pays off in your energy business, helps you procure the service and takes it to a pilot on your sites or grid. ## Where satellite data helps energy companies and utilities From choosing a site to running a grid and selling systems to customers, satellite data answers questions along the whole energy value chain. **New to the technologies?** - [What is Earth observation?](https://leto.space/knowledge/earth-observation/): How satellites observe sites, lines and land over time. - [What is GNSS?](https://leto.space/knowledge/gnss/): Satellite positioning and timing, explained. - [Providers on Spacegraph](https://spacegraph.com/en/marketplace): Our discovery platform has a marketplace category for energy and utilities. ## Client project: automating the sales of renewable energy systems One of our four anonymised client projects sits in sales, at an energy company. ### Automating the sales of renewable energy systems. - **Sector:** Energy and utilities - **Technologies:** Earth observation, AI ## How we help energy companies and utilities ### 1. Strategy and use cases We rank the use cases in site development, grid operation and sales by value and feasibility. [More on strategy and use cases](https://leto.space/consulting/strategy/) ### 2. Requirements and procurement Requirements for a monitoring, forecasting or timing service, and a scan of the providers. [More on requirements and procurement](https://leto.space/consulting/procurement/) ### 3. Implementation A pilot with KPIs agreed in advance on one grid section or one group of sites, then the move into operation. [More on implementation](https://leto.space/consulting/implementation/) ### 4. Skills and workshops Training for the teams in planning, asset management and sales who will use the results. [More on skills and workshops](https://leto.space/consulting/workshops/) [Planning a pilot on a grid section or a group of sites? We help you define what the pilot must prove.](https://outlook.office365.com/book/LETOSPACE@leto.space/) ## Energy generation, grids and raw materials ### Energy generation and renewables Earth observation supports a generation site through its whole life: choosing it, planning it and monitoring it in operation. Copernicus atmosphere and climate services (CAMS and C3S) supply inputs such as solar radiation and wind speeds that are used to plan and operate solar and wind installations [1]. [Selecting sites for solar parks, wind farms and plants](https://leto.space/use-cases/site-selection/) ### Grids, pipelines and networks Transmission networks are monitored from space to protect their integrity, and phasor measurement units in the grid typically rely on satellite timing to synchronise their measurements [1]. The European Ground Motion Service measures ground motion across Europe from radar satellite data, down to a few millimetres, and its data are free to use [2]. [Monitoring pipelines and grid corridors](https://leto.space/use-cases/pipeline-corridor-monitoring/) ### Raw materials and mining Satellite imagery helps identify areas with high mineral potential, monitor the slope stability of mine pits and tailings, detect illegal mining and follow the rehabilitation of closed sites. With correction networks, satellite positioning reaches centimetre level for surveying and machine guidance in mining [1]. [Monitoring ground motion with InSAR](https://leto.space/use-cases/ground-motion-insar/) ## When satellite data is not the answer in energy **Limits** - **Inspection on site:** Satellite data points to the zones at risk, for example where the ground moves or vegetation grows close to a line. Those zones then need a closer look with equipment on site \[1]. - **Clouds and revisit:** Cloud cover blocks optical sensors, and each satellite passes over a site only at set intervals. Where you need continuous measurements, sensors on your own assets remain the better choice. - **Timing needs resilience:** GNSS signals can be disrupted. Because power systems are critical, satellite timing in the grid must be resilient against interference \[4]. ## Frequently asked questions ### How can energy companies use Earth observation and GNSS data? Earth observation supports site selection, planning and monitoring, helps forecast the generation potential of solar, wind and hydropower sites, and is used to monitor transmission networks. GNSS adds position and time: it is a key technology for synchronising smart grids through phasor measurement units [1]. The right starting point is a problem in one of your processes, for example site development, grid operation or sales, not the data source. ### Which problems does Earth observation solve in energy, and which does GNSS solve? Earth observation answers questions about what is on the ground and how it changes: land cover around a planned site, vegetation encroaching on a line, or ground subsidence around a pipeline or plant [1]. The European Ground Motion Service, for example, measures ground motion from radar satellite data down to a few millimetres [2]. GNSS answers questions about position and time: precise timing for grid measurements, and centimetre-level positioning with correction networks for surveying and machine guidance [1]. Satellite communication links platforms and stakeholders offshore and onshore and lets operators analyse assets in real time [3]. ### How does GNSS timing support power grids? Phasor measurement units measure voltage, current, power and frequency in real time and are used to monitor and control the stability of power grids. They typically rely on GPS or another GNSS to synchronise their measurements, and Galileo could serve as an alternative or backup [1]. Because power systems are critical, the timing signal must be resilient against interference [4]. The use cases on [precise timing for power grids](https://leto.space/use-cases/grid-timing/) and on [protecting GNSS-dependent operations](https://leto.space/use-cases/gnss-resilience/) against jamming and spoofing go into detail. ### How do we start, and what does a first pilot look like? Pick one problem that has an owner, for example a grid section that is costly to inspect or a sales process that depends on manual site checks. A first pilot is measurable and time-boxed: its KPIs are agreed before it starts, and the person responsible for the problem decides at the end whether it goes into operation. Our [consulting overview](https://leto.space/consulting/) shows the path from the problem to operation. ### What data do we need to bring? The locations of the assets or sites concerned, for example as GIS layers or lists of coordinates, a description of the decision the data should support, and the records you already keep, such as inspection reports or measurements. You do not need to buy satellite imagery first: Copernicus services and data are free of charge [5]. ## Sources 1. [EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 1, EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 2026-05-26](https://www.euspa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/EU_Space_Market_Report_2026.pdf) 2. [Tap into Europe in motion (European Ground Motion Service), European Space Agency (ESA), 2022-07-26](https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-1/Tap_into_Europe_in_motion) 3. [ESA Space Solutions: Energy, European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 2026-10-06](https://business.esa.int/energy) 4. [Timing is everything: GNSS and the energy grids of the future, EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 2020-12-15](https://www.euspa.europa.eu/newsroom-events/news-archive/timing-everything-gnss-and-energy-grids-future) 5. [Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme, European Union, EUR-Lex, 2021-05-12](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/696/oj/eng) Page: