As Ireland is set to miss its current 2030 emission reduction targets by a significant shortfall, there is increased pressure on wind farm developers and operators to construct more efficient onshore wind farms. Current local maps which advise these developers, prepared by Ireland’s system of thirty-one local authorities, often lack consistency. There are numerous instances where one planning factor is considered of high importance for one local authority and omitted for planning consideration in others. To ensure Ireland develops a country-wide approach to wind farm development, a simplified decision-support mapping system would greatly expedite the site selection activities of the entire industry.
To create a more consistent onshore wind site suitability map for Ireland, TechWorks Marine have developed the first industry-relevant site map using Earth Observation (EO) open-source datasets. Data was collated from European and American satellites including Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, Terra, Aqua, GEDI, GOES, and METEOSTAT. Nine important factors, derived from engagement with the industry, were considered to produce a preliminary suitability map; Wind Speed at 100m, Elevation, Slope, Canopy Height, Roughness Length, Landslide Susceptibility, Land Classification, Proximity to Major Roads, and Proximity to Electrical Grid Lines (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Nine industry relevant factors considered for onshore wind farm development planning. Labels in bold indicate factors collected using EO data. © TechWorks Marine Ltd. 2025
Six of these nine factors were EO sourced, demonstrating how important satellite data has become for models of this type. From a detailed literature review before the model construction, two of the factors, Canopy Height, and Roughness Length, had not been previously incorporated into site suitability maps. However, their inclusion is a must – as these
obstacles can cause turbulence and disrupt wind flow. Assigning a weighting to each factor facilitated the generation of the first whole island site map for onshore wind (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Site suitability map for onshore wind development in Ireland derived from a weighting of the nine industry relevant factors. Scores of 100 indicate optimal site development locations. © TechWorks Marine Ltd. 2025
Areas in Ireland where wind farm developments are prohibited were then mapped and merged to produce a final suitability map (Figure 3). Constraints to wind farm development in Ireland include protected sites, water bodies, archaeological sites, a15km exclusion zone around airports, and legislation advising a minimum distance of 500m from residential sites. Once these constraints were applied, it revealed that only 5% of the land in Ireland is suitable for onshore wind farm development – highlighting the urgent need for a country-wide plan, to enable the authorities in Ireland to reach the government’s future emission reduction targets.
Figure 3. Final site suitability map for onshore wind development in Ireland, incorporating constraints to wind farm development in Ireland. Scores of 100 indicate optimal site development locations. © TechWorks Marine Ltd. 2025
To demonstrate the effectiveness of the site suitability map, current onshore infrastructure in Ireland was investigated with respect to the new suitability scoring. Of all of Ireland’s current onshore wind farms, greater than 90% were mapped in suitable locations. Outliers were found to predate legislative change, or were on private land.
This work by TechWorks Marine has proven that Earth Observation has a vital role to play in modern economies seeking to exploit the optimum sites for onshore wind farm development. From the very earliest phases of planning and land assessment, this suitability map will ensure the correct factors are investigated and validated, ensuring that wind farm developers do not suffer unnecessary delays in seeking licensing to break ground on new developments. As the field of EO data continues to mature, with the increased volume of private and public satellites, this site suitability mapping work can be further refined.
Contact TechWorks Marine to understand how our Earth Observation solutions can transform the pace of your onshore wind project development.