Smooth landing for specialist plane

A special mission aircraft is ready for take off!

The first digital aerial ecology surveys of Irish coastal waters to be undertaken by a domestic company are about to begin following the arrival of this aircraft owned by Green Rebel Group.

The company is leading efforts to establish Cork harbour as a green energy hub, beginning with a new partnership between Green Rebel Group, Cork Airport, the Atlantic Flight Training Academy (AFTA) and Weston Aviation.

Its arrival has resulted in the creation of 15 direct jobs, and there are plans for further job creation over the coming years.

Green Rebel Group acquired the €1.5 million aircraft to undertake ecological assessments as part of the planning process for marine renewable energy projects, including offshore wind farms.

Sarah Kandrot, Head of Aerial Surveys with Green Rebel Group said: “With this aircraft, large sections of the ocean can be surveyed over a shorter period of time than can be achieved with traditional boat-based surveys. Thanks to the ultra high-spec of our camera equipment, our aircraft will be flying at heights that will not cause any disturbance to birds or marine megafauna while at the same time allowing us to collect the highest-quality digital imagery.”

Each aerial survey flight will generate terabytes of high-quality imagery. In order to store, process, and backup this data, Green Rebel Group has also built a marine data centre.

The high-spec server and supporting IT infrastructure are housed in a secure location at the Cork Airport Business Park.

Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director at Cork Airport, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Green Rebel Group to Cork Airport. Covid-19 has provided us with opportunities to diversify our business into new areas supporting cargo, offshore gas and wind operations.”