[Satellite TODAY 04-20-12] Imagery satellite operator GeoEye has entered into a strategic partnership with solar energy technology developer Geostellar to supply high-quality Earth imagery, digital surface models and other mapping data to help Geostellar expand its service, the companies confirmed April 19.

      GeoEye said it also intends to take a small equity position in Geostellar, which has developed an analytics platform that automatically determines how quickly a given property owner can recoup an investment in solar energy. GeoEye will become Geostellar’s Earth imagery vendor of choice and apply image-processing capabilities developed by GeoEye Analytics.

      The imagery provider added that Geostellar sought a strategic partner to help collect and process massive amounts of Earth imagery data to catalog the solar power potential of every commercial and residential property in the United States.

      “High-quality, digital surface models and mapping data provide critical fuel to our engine,” Geostellar Founder and CEO David Levine said in a statement. “Our strategic relationship with GeoEye will help millions of residential and commercial property owners understand how quickly they can generate a return on investment by going solar.”