Water Body Detection Using Sen2Cube.at and Comparison to Open Government Data - Assessing for Floating Photovoltaics

Abstract

Abstract. Currently, energy transition is in full swing and aims to increase the production and utilization of green and sustainable energy. Especially in Central Europe, available space to create new photovoltaic power plants is limited. Spatial planners need to maintain a balance between areas for photovoltaics (PV), agriculture, forestry and settlement space. One idea in Europe is to utilize water bodies for floating PV. However, it is hard to quantify the potential area suitable for floating PV. This paper helps to answer this question by using a combined multi-criteria decision analysis and earth observation approach based on Sentinel-2 data via semantically enriched imagery available in Sen2Cube.at. The objective is to develop and test an approach to detect stable surface water that stays invariant in size over several years.We then evaluate the size of detected stable water, which is crucial for the application of floating PV, as well as the littoral zones, which are currently limiting the application of floating PV systems. The results based on Sentinel-2 time-series using Sen2Cube.at are then compared with available open government data of water body extent and littoral zones.