Study to investigate impact of snow dynamics on Italian hydro plants

16 August 2022


Wegaw has been selected by Enel and ESA to deliver a technical feasibility study of snow water equivalent values that would support a scalable nowcasting and forecasting energy generation solution for a cluster of hydropower plants across northern Italy.

Wegaw will use its satellite-based snow monitoring solution to support Enel in further improving its understanding of snow dynamics to maximize the optimization of the hydropower system.

Through Wegaw’s deep learning geospatial tech platform and expertise in snowpack dynamics, as well as continuously available data from satellites managed by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the results of this new feasibility study “Space for Hydro Energy” will feature seasonal best practice and assessment methodology to enable a more accurate prediction of complex snow water equivalent (SWE) variables.

“Our groundbreaking international projects and satellite missions foster progressive development in the pollution-free hydro power industry and we are very pleased to collaborate with Wegaw again to discover further enhancement opportunities that would benefit energy needs whilst closing the gap on fossil fuel dependencies,” commented Davide Coppola, Head of Space Applications Initiatives , ESA Space Solutions, European Space Agency

“Our team is very proud to work with Wegaw and ESA on hydro energy transition optimisation and we are looking forward to seeing the results of our collaboration very soon,” added Marco Favarato, Head of Enel Innovability® Global Energy and Commodity management.

Image: Alpine region of South Tyrol in Italy taken by Markus Spiske (Source: Unsplash)



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