As global efforts majorly move towards renewable energy sources, hydropower’s role in the energy grid continuously grows. It is already the largest source of renewable electricity in Europe, and demands are rising. However, increased hydropower production increasingly experiences two big challenges: Climate change and the operational requirements of a dynamic electricity.
Climate change is altering the environment, melting glaciers and causing more sediment in rivers and reservoirs used in hydropower operations. The increased amount of sediment places strain on hydropower plant components, such as turbines, which suffer damage and erosion much quicker than before. Similarly, the demand for hydropower plants to operate more flexibly and respond to immediate trends also increases wear-and-tear on component due to cavitation, vibration, and other stress factors.
To combat these challenges, our partners have developed and tested a series of monitoring solutions and tools across three of our demonstration sites: Valeira (Portugal), Vissoie and Bitsch (Switzerland), and Røldal–Suldal (Norway). All three sites are affected differently by the aforementioned challenges, which makes them excellent testing grounds to explore which monitoring systems work best for their unique cases, and can be applicable on a grand scale. Systems employed include acoustic sensors, cloud-based analytics, and virtual powerplants (digital twins).
The research conducted by our partners turned out positive, and tests successful. It became clear that various combinations of monitoring solutions are not only feasible, but have potential to significantly contribute to extended asset lifespans and reduced operational costs. This creates opportunities for refurbishment decisions and thus ultimately enhance the role of hydropower as a provider of flexibility and stability in Europe’s future low-carbon energy system.