Today, GHGSat unveiled sample imagery from its demonstration satellite, Claire. GHGSat has detected emissions of methane, an important greenhouse gas, from a hydroelectric facility under construction in Africa. GHGSat is making sample imagery and data for this facility available for evaluation by qualified parties.
Claire captures an array of over 200,000 atmospheric measurements around an industrial facility in a few seconds. These measurements are processed to produce imagery showing a “heat map” of greenhouse gas concentrations from the facility.
Using weather data and the retrieved array of greenhouse gas concentrations, GHGSat can estimate the rate at which an industrial facility releases greenhouse gases into the air. Flooding of hydroelectric reservoirs in tropical regions causes organic matter to decompose, often producing methane, which is then emitted into the air as water is released from the reservoir. The amount of methane emitted typically decreases over time, and varies with the amount of water released from the reservoir. GHGSat will collect local data in the coming weeks to further validate its measurements, and perform additional satellite measurements of the facility to monitor emissions rates over time.
“GHGSat has been reviewing measurements of various facilities with customers for several months. Today’s unveiling is intended to facilitate collaboration with and evaluation by qualified parties such as academic and government institutions,” said Stéphane Germain, President and CEO of GHGSat. “We are excited by the unique insights Claire’s data can provide, and want to raise awareness of GHGSat’s services around the world.”
GHGSat will present technical details of its imagery and system at several upcoming international conferences. Further details and information on how to access GHGSat’s sample data can be found on GHGSat’s website at www.ghgsat.com.
About GHGSat
GHGSat’s vision is to become the global reference for remote sensing of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from industrial sites, using satellite technology.
Claire is the world’s first and only satellite designed to measure greenhouse gas emissions from sources on the scale of industrial facilities. GHGSat’s innovative sensor technology has also been miniaturized to fit on a low-cost nanosatellite, enabling the company to offer commercial greenhouse gas measurement and monitoring services. GHGSat is using its technology to help industrial emitters in sectors such as oil & gas, power generation, mining, waste management and agriculture to measure, control and ultimately reduce their emissions.
GHGSat is currently building two new satellites that will incorporate lessons learned from Claire, further improving performance and providing additional capacity. One satellite is planned to enter service in late 2018 and the other in early 2019.
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