Mikesch B

External GIS & Geospatial Data Engineer – Renewable Energy (Solar & Wind)

Elawan Energy • Freelance

Sep 2023 - Present • 2 yrs 8 mos

Key Responsibilities and Achievements: - Development of automated geospatial workflows for site screening of onshore wind, solar energy (PV) and BESS projects, using QGIS and Python to evaluate large numbers of parcels efficiently and consistently. - Integration of energy yield and site-quality analysis (AEP / Standortgüte) and wake-effect estimation into the pre-assessment workflow to prioritise technically and economically promising sites and to derive expectations of park performance. - Design terrain-optimized wind farm layouts that account for slope, aspect, ridges and valleys to identify the optimal location of each turbine and maximise energy yield. - Indicative project profitability assessment by combining technical site parameters (AEP, wake, constraints) with basic economic assumptions to support early-stage prioritisation of projects. - Custom QGIS/Python tooling for constraint-based site assessment (e.g. planning restrictions, exclusion zones, setbacks, terrain, grid proximity), significantly reducing manual GIS effort and error rates. - Large-scale greenfield and “white space” mapping to identify and rank optimal sites for wind and solar development, enabling proactive site selection ahead of competitors. - Research and analysis of regional and municipal planning documents to detect emerging opportunities and constraints for renewable energy projects and integrate them into the site-screening logic. - Development of Python-based geospatial automation scripts to streamline workflows, improve computational robustness and accelerate project execution. - Creation of high-quality, project-specific GIS visualisations and standardised pre-assessment reports tailored to internal stakeholders, supporting decision-making, strategic planning and communication in renewable energy development