– If hydropower producers can make decisions just one percent better than before, that would be a difference of billions of kroner, says Reza Argandeh.
He is a researcher at Høgskulen på Vestlandet. With Hossein Farahmand of NTNU has studied how hydroelectric power producers can do a better job Exploit natural resources and play with the market at any time.
In this way, the price of electricity can be kept as low as possible.
Calculates the degree of fullness of the water tank
Concretely, they have developed new styles in the interior Artificial intelligence To calculate how producers regulate the degree of filling of the water tank.
So: when is it wise to save water in tanks, and when is it wise to use water to produce electricity.
“Using artificial intelligence, we can give better advice about how much water to send through the power plant at any given time, hour to hour in the coming days, weeks and months,” he says. Arganda.
Artificial intelligence means that computers can process huge amounts of information, and they can Learn from own experience and use it to solve complex problems.
The researchers collaborated with energy producers Lyse Produksjon AS and Østfold Energi.
They are now experimenting with newly developed tools in artificial intelligence, to see how they work in practice.
The collected water is worth its weight in gold, as it is here at Zachariah Demin in Tafjord. There are now new ways to see how water can be used in the most sensible way, in interaction with other forms of energy.
Photo: Øyvind Berge Sæbjørnsen/NRK
Seventy-year-old method
The point of finding new aids to control energy production is that there are more and more uncertain factors at play.
The calculation simply becomes more difficult. The AI can then help producers make better reviews.
A number of factors play a role, including the following:
- FifthRelationship
- landscape forms
- precipitation amounts
- winter temperatures
- streaming market
- The political situation in Europe
Over the past 70 years, manufacturers have used the same mathematical models to calculate how to regulate the water level in tanks.
– These methods of making decisions are time consuming and imprecise. With artificial intelligence, we can increase the speed of calculations. Moreover, we can get more accurate answers, Argande says.
Offshore wind is a major investment in Norway, but a green form of energy can make managing hydropower production more complex.
Image: Øyvind Gravås/Equinor/NTB
Offshore wind challenges
It doesn’t get any less complicated when society has to use new, greener forms of energy.
Among other things, the government has plans to Offshore wind will become important to Norway’s energy supply.
Vasskraft can be made at any time, just by turning on a switch. But it’s hard to know in advance how much sun and wind there is at a given time and how much energy can be produced.
– The wind doesn’t always blow, and the sun doesn’t always shine either. Because wind conditions change so rapidly, we will then need models that can calculate hour by hour how wind production affects health, says Hossein Farahmand of NTNU.
Professor Reza Argande of the University of Western Norway says these two forms of energy can complement each other.
The interaction between wind and hydropower is the key to a greener and more sustainable energy future. With the help of artificial intelligence, we can help energy producers and authorities combine these two forms of energy, for the benefit of all, he says Arganda.
One of the goals is to keep the price of electricity as low as possible.
Photo: Eric Surenmo-Bach/NRK
Multiple purposes
Others in the energy industry also see AI as a useful adjunct.
Statkraft, Europe’s largest renewable energy producer, is collaborating with it Many research environments on the development of systems based on artificial intelligence, among others, for the operation and maintenance of hydroelectric power plants.
The company also uses AI for power allocation, to time production from different power plants.
– Climate change over the past 10 to 15 years has required new and more advanced models. Statkraft set out over 30 years ago to digitize the management of our power plants. So the company got out early, Statkraft press spokesman Knut Fjerdingstad tells NRK.
– a gift from nature
Researchers at NTNU and Høgskulen på Vestlandet state that Norway is fortunate to have vast hydroelectric resources.
– In the transition to a society that relies more on the sun and wind as energy sources, a reliable supply of hydroelectric power will become much more important. It is a gift from nature. He says we should make an effort to manage it as best we can Hussain A man of joy.
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