ABSTRACT
Today, satellite sensors provide digital recordings of the earth’s surface in a spatial resolution of approximately 1 km (e.g., SPOT-VEGETATION, MODIS, MERIS, Proba-V) to less than 1 m (z. B. WorldView, QuickBird, IKONOS). The temporal repetition cycle varies from daily to monthly surveys. The Earth observation technology has steadily evolved in recent years from a beginning characterized by a rather experimentally imprinted alignment toward operational services, which ensures a long-term, regular, and quality-assured provision of spatial data and higher-value information products. On the one hand, these data and products can be recorded while targeted on request for specific applications, periods, or regions as needed, or on the other hand, these can be implemented in a systematic and comprehensive monitoring of the Earth’s surface. Thus, satellite-based Earth observation provides promising applications to implement a sustainable energy supply. Remote sensing-aided applications such as wind field analysis and the levying of irradiation data or the determination of solar surface potentials are commercially exploited and have been available for several years and are firmly established in existing planning processes.
