An alternative energy project, CSP-FoSyS –Concentrating Solar Power Forecast System for Participation in the Spanish Electricity Market using Earth Observation and Communication Technologies developed by the European Space Agency was introduced to ESA’s Integrated Applications Promotion (IAP) programmee by Dr Kass. The project consortium was headed by Solar Millennium AG, Germany, partnered with the German Space Agency’s Earth Observation centre - Deutsche Fernerkundungsdatenzentrum (DLR-DFD), Oberpfaffenhofen.

Alternative energy and its management has become of increasing importance because of the dearth of clean energy sources, the need to reduce carbon emissions, and the mounting costs of oil. How these sources are managed is as much of importance as the nature of these sources themselves. This project tackled the challenges of capturing concentrated solar power, while forecasting solar irradiation and thus energy production and its managed and useful introduction into the power grid.