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Hydropower has long been used to stabilise ridges and store energy to offset fluctuations in solar and wind power. Its use of artificial intelligence is helping it cope with new demands, but making it more susceptible to cyberattacks.
As the world’s largest source of renewable energy, hydropower plays an important role in stabilising the grid. While solar power relies on the sun to shine and wind turbines need the wind to blow, hydroelectric turbines can be turned on or off (mostly) at will. Hydropower is widely used to store electrical energy on a large scale, called pumped storage, meaning it can offset fluctuating wind and solar power on the grid.
Its value in the race to net-zero energy is proven, but aging infrastructure, 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 problems by automating functions, collecting and analyzing valuable data, and optimally scheduling energy production and maintenance.
The rise of AI in hydropower
There’s no doubt that AI use in the energy sector is on the rise, with one study estimating that it could be worth as much as $13 billion. When it comes to hydropower, AI shows promise in two of the most important tasks: water management and maintenance. Until now, managing water resources to meet energy demand has largely relied on combining historical weather patterns, such as precipitation and snowmelt, with forecasting future ones. Maintenance is often done in cycles, meaning that unforeseen breakdowns or inefficient equipment jeopardize regular energy production.
Digitalisation is changing this situation by transforming hydropower plants from reactive to proactive, capable of anticipating any problems before they arrive and optimising operations to improve efficiency, generating more energy from the available water. A smart hydropower plant, therefore, is one that uses innovations such as AI, virtual reality, the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data to improve the operation and safety of the plants energy. It uses smart electronic devices and smart equipment for automation, analysis, decision-making, information exchange and integration with other smart applications.
Smart technologies can also take into account ever-changing regulatory requirements and help minimise their environmental impact. For example, when it comes to water availability, AI can use vast amounts of data on historical weather patterns and reservoir levels to make more accurate predictions about future water flow, thereby avoiding unnecessary spills. The information can be applied to ensure that water is distributed throughout the hydroelectric power plant in the most energy-efficient way.
Advanced sensor technology in hydro turbines allows their status to be monitored in real time; this data can be fed into artificial intelligence algorithms to predict breakdowns in advance and thus reduce the risk of outages. The data can also be combined with information on energy market prices or feed-in tariffs to optimise maintenance scheduling and thus reduce potential losses.
Another advantage of AI is that it can be used to create predictive flow models that can estimate how much energy a hydropower plant can generate, allowing for more efficient scheduling of turbines and long-term production planning. In addition, AI in hydropower plants can help mitigate the potentially damaging effects of extreme weather events by improving water flow management and preventing overflows.
Wolfgang Hofbauer, an expert in the field and coordinator of an IEC working group developing standards for hydroelectric turbines, says that AI can help in a number of ways, including by being able to identify potential threats to the power supply. “With the ability to collect and analyse data, AI systems can help identify deviations in figures, such as temperature changes, allowing for predictive and targeted maintenance, rather than just reacting when something breaks down. What’s more, it can calculate energy production in real time and run simulations to determine the best water levels and parameters to use turbines most efficiently.”
However, the use of AI in hydropower plant automation is not yet widespread, he says, because the market is cautious for fear of things going wrong and grid disruptions. Cybersecurity is also a concern. “Hydropower plants can be considered vulnerable targets in a country’s infrastructure and therefore attractive to hackers,” he adds. “That’s why it’s important to strengthen the security of hardware and systems through 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 – each device is another opportunity. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), cyberattacks against utilities have increased rapidly since 2018 and have sharply spiked in 2022 following the deployment of Russian forces on the territory of Ukraine.
Examples include the cyberattack on Hydro-Québec, Quebec’s state-owned electricity provider, in April 2023, claimed by a pro-Russian group, and the failed cyberattack on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in May 2022, which targeted 37,000 interconnected computers used by the country’s financial institutions. The main threats are ransomware, remote access, infiltration of supply chains, phishing and malware, which lead to loss of information, productivity and revenue.
IEC standards for cybersecurity
International standards offer solutions to many cybersecurity challenges based on global best practices. They can help provide a robust and consistent 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 how to keep industrial automation and control systems cyber-secure and can be applied to any industrial environment, including critical infrastructure facilities such as power or nuclear plants, as well as in the healthcare and transportation sectors. ISO/IEC 27019, Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection – Information security controls for the energy utility industry, extends 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, communication technology such as networks and remote control technology, digital safety and security systems, and much more.
Recognizing the specific needs of hydropower plants, IEC/IEEE 63198-2775, Technical guidelines for smart hydropower plants, provides an open architecture with technical requirements for each part to improve the safe, reliable, efficient and economic operation of hydropower plants, enhancing 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 plants with existing instrumentation. The committee that developed it is also working on a technical specification to guide the effective and efficient digitalization of operation and maintenance in hydropower assets.
The IECEE industrial cybersecurity programme, the IEC System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components, tests and certifies cybersecurity in the industrial automation sector. The IECEE Conformity Assessment System includes a programme that provides certification to the IEC 62443 series of standards.
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 this supports its important role in a net-zero future.
Clare Naden is a staff writer at CIS with over 25 years experience in journalism and communications in New Zealand, the UK, Australia and Switzerland. |
