As the world’s largest source of renewable energy, hydropower plays an important role in stabilizing the grid. While solar power relies on the sun to shine and wind turbines need the wind to blow, hydropower turbines can be (mostly) turned on or off at will. Hydropower is extensively used for electrical energy storage on a large scale, so-called pumped storage, meaning it can compensate for the fluctuation of wind and solar energy in the grid.
Its value in the race to net-zero is proven, but aging infrastructures, unpredictable weather patterns and ever-changing regulatory requirements are just some of the challenges it faces. Digitalization and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are helping to solve some of these issues, through the automation of functions, gathering and analyzing valuable data and enabling optimal scheduling of power production and maintenance.
The rise of AI in hydropower
The use of AI in the energy sector is undoubtedly on the rise, with one study estimating it could be worth up to $13 billion. When it comes to hydropower, AI is showing promise with two of the most important tasks: water management and maintenance. Until now, managing water resources to meet energy demands has mostly been based on combining historical weather patterns, such as rainfall and snow melting, with the forecasting of future ones. Maintenance is generally run on cycles, meaning unexpected breakdowns or inefficient equipment pose risks to regular power production.
Digitalization is changing this by transforming hydropower plants from reactive to proactive, able to anticipate any problems before they arrive and optimize operations to improve efficiency, generating more power from the available water. A smart hydroelectric plant, then, is one 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 power. 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 help ensure their environmental impact is minimized. For example, when it comes to the availability of water, AI can use large amounts of data about historical weather patterns and reservoir levels to make more accurate predictions about future water flow, thereby avoiding unnecessary water spillage. The information can be applied to ensure that water is distributed across the hydropower plant in the most power-efficient way.
Advanced sensor tech on water turbines provides real-time monitoring of their status; this data can then be fed into AI algorithms to help predict malfunctions in advance, thus reducing the risk of outages. The data can also be combined with information about market prices for power or feed-in tariffs to optimize the timing of maintenance so as to reduce any potential losses.
Another benefit of AI is that it can be used to create predictive flow models that are able to estimate the amount of energy a hydropower plant can generate, enabling more efficient scheduling of turbines and production planning over the long term. What’s more, AI in hydropower plants can help mitigate the potentially damaging effects of extreme weather events by improving the management of water flows and preventing overflowing.
Wolfgang Hofbauer, an expert in the area and a convenor of an IEC working group that develops standards for hydro turbines, says AI can help in several ways, such as being able to identify potential threats to the power supply. “Through being able to collect and analyze data, AI systems can help to identify where figures might be deviating, such as temperature changes, which enables targeted, predictive maintenance, rather than just reacting when something breaks down. What’s more, it can calculate real-time power output and perform simulations to determine the best water levels and parameters to use the turbines most effectively.”
However, the use of AI in automation in hydropower plants is not yet widespread, he says, because the market is treading cautiously for fears things might go wrong and there are disruptions to the network. Cyber security is also a concern. “Hydropower plants can be seen as vulnerable targets in the infrastructure of a country, and thus be attractive to hackers,” he adds. “So, it is important to strengthen the security of the hardware and systems using firewalls or other advanced cyber security measures.”
The rise of cyber attacks
The integration of IoT devices and sensors increases the cyber vulnerability of hydro plants simply because there are more ways to attack – every device is another opportunity. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), cyber attacks on utilities have been growing rapidly since 2018 and spiked dramatically in 2022 following Russia’s deployment of forces into Ukraine's territory.
Examples include the cyber attack against Hydro-Québec, Quebec’s state-owned electricity provider, in April 2023, for which a pro-Russian group claimed responsibility, and the failed cyber attack against the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in May 2022 that targeted 37 000 interlinked computers used by financial institutions in the country. The main threats are those involving ransomware, getting remote access, infiltrating supply chains, phishing and malware, leading to loss of information, productivity and revenue.
IEC Standards for cyber-security
International standards provide solutions to many cyber security challenges based on global best practices. They can help to provide a strong and uniform level of security across different components and devices as well as ensure that different devices work together effectively and securely.
For example, IEC 62443 provides guidance on keeping industrial automation and control systems cyber-safe and can be applied to any industrial environment, including critical infrastructure facilities, such as power utilities or nuclear plants, as well as in the health and transport sectors. ISO/IEC 27019, Information security, cyber security and privacy protection – Information security controls for the energy utility industry, expands 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 grids. This includes aspects such as monitoring and automation technology, digital controllers, data visualization tasks, communication technology such as networks and remote-control technology, digital protection and safety systems and much more.
Recognizing the specific needs of hydroelectric power plants, IEC/IEEE 63198-2775, Technical guidelines for smart hydroelectric plants, provides an open architecture with technical requirements for each part to improve the safe, reliable, efficient and economic operation of hydroelectric power plants, enhancing the interaction with the smart grid. It incorporates guidelines for communication networks, sensors, local monitoring and control equipment, integrated control and management platform (ICAMP) as well as intelligent control and management of power plants with existing instrumentation. The committee that developed it is also working on a technical specification to give guidance on the effective and performant digitalization of operation and maintenance in hydropower assets.
The industrial cyber security program of the IECEE, the IEC System for Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components, tests and certifies cyber security 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 incorporate the latest technologies safely and efficiently. All of which supports its important role in a net-zero 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, not-for-profit membership organization that brings together 174 countries and coordinates the work of 30.000 experts globally. IEC International Standards and conformity assessment underpin international trade in electrical and electronic goods. They facilitate electricity access and verify the safety, performance and interoperability of electric and electronic devices and systems, including for example, consumer devices such as mobile phones or refrigerators, office and medical equipment, information technology, electricity generation, and much more.
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Hydropower has long been used to stabilize the rid ..
How does a revered, authoritative body of technical standards and knowledge become so unconscionably sloppy that it obviously does not even read and edit its own writings ..
No wonder we keep hearing that nobody cares to uphold the standards any more .. even the standards body itself ..