Like the the world’s largest resource of renewable energy, hydropower plays an important role in stabilizing the electricity grid. While solar power relies on the sun to shine and wind turbines need the wind to blow, hydropower turbines can (usually) be turned on or off at will. Hydropower is widely used for the storage of electrical energy, so-called pumped storage, which means that it can compensate for the fluctuations of wind and solar energy in the electricity grid.
Its value in the race to a climate-neutral economy is proven, but aging infrastructures, unpredictable weather patterns and ever-changing regulatory requirements are just some of the challenges the country faces. Digitalization and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are helping to solve some of these problems, automating functions, collecting and analyzing valuable data and enabling optimal planning of energy production and maintenance.
The rise of AI in hydropower
The use of AI in the energy sector is undoubtedly increasing, and one study estimates that it could be worth it $13 billion. When it comes to hydropower, AI shows promise with two of the most important tasks: water management and maintenance. Until now, managing water resources to meet energy demands has mainly been based on combining historical weather patterns, such as rainfall and snowmelt, with predicting future patterns. Maintenance generally takes place cyclically, which means that unexpected failures or inefficient equipment pose risks to regular energy production.
Digitalization is changing this by transforming hydropower plants from reactive to proactive, able to anticipate any problems before they arise and optimize operations to improve efficiency, generating more power from the available water. A smart hydropower plant is therefore a plant that uses innovations such as AI, virtual reality, the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data to improve the functioning and safety of the plant. It uses intelligent electronic devices and intelligent equipment for automation, analysis, decision making, information sharing and integration with other intelligent applications.
Smart technologies can also take into account ever-changing regulatory requirements and ensure that their impact on the environment is minimized. For example, when it comes to water availability, AI can use large amounts of data on historical weather patterns and reservoir levels to make more accurate predictions about future water flow, preventing unnecessary water loss. The information can be applied to ensure that water is distributed across the hydropower station in the most energy-efficient way.
Advanced sensor technology on water turbines provides real-time monitoring of their status; this data can then be fed into AI algorithms to help predict failures in advance, reducing the risk of outages. The data can also be combined with information on market prices for electricity or feed-in tariffs to optimize the timing of maintenance and reduce any losses.
Another benefit of AI is that it can be used to create predictive flow models capable of estimating the amount of energy a hydropower plant can generate, allowing for more efficient turbine scheduling and long-term production planning. Furthermore, AI in hydropower plants can help mitigate the potentially damaging effects of extreme weather events by improving water flow management and preventing flooding.
Wolfgang Hofbauer, an expert in this field and chairman of a IEC working group which develops standards for hydropower turbines, says AI can help in several ways, such as being able to identify potential threats to power supplies. “By being able to collect and analyze data, AI systems can help identify where numbers may be off, such as temperature changes, allowing for targeted, predictive maintenance, rather than just reacting when something breaks. In addition, it can calculate real-time power and run simulations to determine the best water levels and parameters to use the turbines most effectively.”
However, the use of AI in hydropower plant automation is not yet widespread, he says, as the market is cautious for fear that things could go wrong and disruptions occur in the network. Cyber security is also a concern. “Hydroelectric power plants can be seen as vulnerable targets in a country’s infrastructure, and thus attractive to hackers,” he adds. “So it is important to strengthen the security of the hardware and systems using firewalls or other advanced cybersecurity measures.”
The rise of cyber attacks
The integration of IoT devices and sensors increases the cyber vulnerability of hydropower plants simply because there are more ways to attack – every device is a new opportunity. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), cyber attacks on utilities have increased rapidly since 2018 and increased dramatically in 2022 following the deployment of Russian forces on the territory of Ukraine.
Examples include the April 2023 cyberattack on Hydro-Québec, Quebec’s state electricity supplier, for which a pro-Russian group claimed responsibility, and the failed cyber attack against the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in May 2022, which targeted 37,000 interconnected computers used by financial institutions in the country. The main threats are from ransomware, remote access, infiltrating supply chains, phishing and malware, leading to loss of information, productivity and revenue.
IEC cybersecurity standards
International standards provide solutions to many cybersecurity challenges based on global best practices. They can help provide a strong and uniform level of security for different components and devices and ensure that different devices work together effectively and securely.
For example, IEC 62443 provides guidance on keeping industrial automation and control systems cyber-secure and can be applied to any industrial environment, including critical infrastructure facilities, such as energy companies or nuclear power plants, as well as in the healthcare and transportation sectors. ISO/IEC 27019Information Security, Cyber Security and Privacy Protection – Information Security Controls for the Energy Sector, elaborates on the information security controls and measures set out in ISO/IEC 27002 to meet the specific needs of process control systems and automation technology used by national networks. This includes aspects such as monitoring and automation technology, digital controllers, data visualization tasks, communications technology such as networking and remote control technology, digital security and safety systems and much more.
Recognizing the specific needs of hydroelectric power stations, IEC/IEEE 63198-2775Technical Guidelines for Smart Hydropower Plants, provide an open architecture with technical requirements for each component to improve the safe, reliable, efficient and economical operation of hydropower plants, thereby improving the interaction with the smart grid. It includes guidelines for communication networks, sensors, local monitoring and control equipment, an integrated control and management platform (ICAMP) and intelligent control and management of power plants with existing instrumentation. The committee that developed it is also working on a technical specification to provide guidelines for the effective and high-performance digitalization of the operation and maintenance of hydroelectric power stations.
The industrial cybersecurity program of the IECEEthe IEC System for Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrical Equipment and Components tests and certifies cybersecurity in the industrial automation sector. The IECEE Conformity Assessment Scheme includes a program that provides certification to standards within the IEC 62443 series.
The use of IEC standards and the conformity assessment processes that ensure they are used correctly are therefore important tools to help the hydropower industry keep up with demand and integrate the latest technologies safely and efficiently. All this supports its important role in a climate-neutral future.
Clare Naden is a writer at the IEC, with more than 25 years of journalism and communications experience in New Zealand, the UK, Australia and Switzerland.
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a global non-profit membership organization that unites 174 countries and coordinates the work of 30,000 experts worldwide. International IEC standards and conformity assessment are the basis of international trade in electrical and electronic goods. They facilitate access to electricity and verify the safety, performance and interoperability of electrical and electronic devices and systems, including, for example, consumer equipment such as mobile phones or refrigerators, office and medical equipment, information technology, electricity generation and much more.
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