Reuniwatt, headquartered on France’s Reunion Island, has established its first international office in Melbourne and is looking to grow the market for its forecasting tools that offer high-resolution observations of solar irradiation and cloud cover, as well as solar and wind power forecasting services.
Reuniwatt Business Developer Pierre Arnal said as solar power capacity scales up in Australia, information as detailed as that provided by the company’s suite of forecasting tools will prove indispensable to making the most of the technology’s potential.
“The potential for renewables is absolutely enormous,” he said, reasoning that solar forecasting allows for owners and operators to and improve the functionality of projects and maximise economic benefits by optimising the use of the generated solar power.
“It’s hard to say how much you gain because it’s really a case-by-case basis but what we have seen is that overall, it makes a huge difference,” he said.
Arnal also highlighted that national and the regional regulations are leaning more towards implementing mandatory forecasts to mitigate the risk of solar production variability.
“We know that we have a role to play here,” he said.
Reuniwatt, which has been active in Australia since 2015, offers a suite of forecasting systems that use data collected from satellite observations, sensors, and meteorological modelling to provide high-fidelity predictions, but Arnal said it is the company’s patented Sky InSight service that provides a point of difference.
“Nearly all the forecasts are being made with satellite, not with equipment on the ground,” he said. “So we really bring something new to the table.”
Arnal said Sky InSight uses infrared vision technology to track and forecast cloud cover to produce a thermal map of the sky and with a minute-by-minute update frequency, the tool can provide continuous forecasts of a PV plant’s power output.
“It’s very useful for solar applications in Australia,” he said.
Arnal said the company’s short-term predictions technology has already attracted “strong interest” from commercial developers in Australia and discussions to install the technology at several projects is progressing.
Reuniwatt, which operates in more than 50 countries, has also identified applications for its technology in the space, defence, mining, and research domains.
“We are finding many, many applications for our products,” Arnal said. “This is why we chose Australia, we believe that it will be a key market for us.”
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