Skagerak Energi was looking to improve the measuring stations they used to gather information about the water in their hydropower plants. Data on water flow and water level is important to produce as much electricity as possible. It provides information on when it pays to produce electricity and an early signal of possible water loss. They were looking for an IoT logger, which could send data from the measuring stations in a harsh climate, without much maintenance. The solutions available within the hydropower industry were expensive, so Skagerak Kraft set out to search. They found what they were looking for in Svalbard. – It is when you look outside your own domain that you might find innovative solutions, says Andreas Billington, Head of Market at Skagerak Kraft. Random collaboration Telenor Svalbard had long been looking at areas of use for the new mobile technologies within IoT. IoT stands for Internet of Things, and enables things to connect to the internet. Initially, they worked on a project in collaboration with UNIS (University Center in Svalbard), which focused on using the technology in snow gauges. Einar Jenssen shows one of the gauges used to measure snow. Photo: Stian Kristoffer Sande / Telenor After Skagerak Energi got in touch, they started looking at the possibility of using the technology in water meters. – Then we made a pilot that ticks and goes in Uvdal municipality. We used the sensors they had used until then, but made the actual installation and data transfer process much easier, says Einar Jenssen, head of technology and innovation at Telenor Svalbard. Several hundred will now be placed in Skagerak Energi’s catchment areas for hydropower. The aim is to have three times as many measurement points as previously. Own company The companies have now joined forces to form a new company based on Svalbard, Where2O, which will make the technology available to other hydropower producers and other industries that need increased instrumentation in water and snow. Einar Jenssen, head of research and innovation Telenor Svalbard, Eivind Trondsen, managing director Where2O and Beathe Furenes, hydrologist Skagerak Kraft. Photo: Stian Kristoffer Sande, Telenor A small box with IoT technology is connected and sends data from sensors into the water. – It uses extremely little electricity, and can be left unattended for a long time in the field and can be controlled online, says general manager of Where2O, Eivind Trondsen. They estimate that, on average, a stored hydropower plant can produce between 0.8 and 1.2 per cent more electricity with increased use of measuring stations. Nature conservation agency positive – All measures that can get more energy out of the existing nature interventions are very positive, says leader of the Nature Conservation Association Truls Gulowsen. He says that several types of measures are being discussed to make electricity production more efficient, as there has been an increased interest in efficiency along with the electricity crisis. He sees the use of measuring stations as a good measure. Truls Gulowsen, head of the Nature Conservation Association, is positive about the use of the measuring stations. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news But Gulowsen is not equally positive about all forms of efficiency improvement. – Some involve, for example, transferring water from other watercourses. It has more challenging environmental consequences, he says. Cheaper electricity? If all hydropower plants in Norway adopt the new IoT loggers and increase the number of measurement points in their waterways, it will correspond to a production increase of enough electricity for 50,000 households. But whether it will lead to cheaper electricity cannot be promised. – All increased production of renewable energy will contribute to that, but a one percent increase alone will probably not give us markedly lower prices. The problem is probably a bit more complex, but increased hydropower production is probably a huge advantage anyway, says Billington in Skagerak Kraft.
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A chance collaboration can lead to increased electricity production in hydropower plants – news Troms and Finnmark
