Survey & investigation | References


https://www.rezatec.com/news/ how-geospatial-analysis-helps- prioritize-dam-investments/


https://www.damsat.com


https://www.niricson.com/post/ niricson-acquires-funding-from- bentley-itwin-ventures


https://wegaw.com


j Snow and Avalanche Research SLF and nine hydroelectricity companies, are working on the “Defrost for Hydropower” project to improve water supply forecasting in dams across Switzerland’s alpine regions. The “Defrost for Hydropower” project combines SLF’s snow expertise with satellite imagery from Wegaw’s geospatial technology and Hydrique Engineers advanced modelling skills, in order to more accurately predict water flow into hydro dams up to four months in advance as well as hydrological inflows on a regional scale. These improved forecast insights would support numerous key areas that are important to industry stakeholders, such as hydroelectricity asset efficiency, trading decision making, due diligence and national sustainability efforts. Wegaw and Hydrique Ingénieurs HJ Sàrl presented the concept to energy industry decision makers, and welcomed nine electricity companies as well as one governmental innovation body to form a new consortium, including: Alpiq Holding; EnBag AQ; EnAlpin AG; FMV SA (Forces Motrices Valaisannes); Groupe E SA; REPUBLIQUE ET CANTON DE GENÈVE- Département du territoire; Romande Energie; OIKEN; and Services Industriels de Genève (SIG). The project started in September 2021 and first datasets were presented at the Steering Committee meeting held in December 2021. The Wegaw team is successfully converting RADAR


satellite information to snow water equivalent (SWE) insights and integrating the data into a seasonal hydrological inflow forecast.


Earlier this year, the methodology was successfully


tested in two hydrological basins in Valais and the project is now moving towards the hydrological modelling phase after which Wegaw will work on the


Economic Impact Assessment stage. This will involve comparing the simulated inflow data with the collected information from the participating hydropower producers in order to identify economic improvement opportunities in production and trading. “Due to the accuracy of our forecasts and the quality of the available data, our team is on track to complete technical and economic evaluations for the consortium,” said Daria Lu¨dtke, CTO & Geospatial Technologist at Wegaw. “These new insights could lead to enhancements in electricity trading for the hydropower companies on a seasonal basis, resulting in more competitive energy pricing and potentially a better environmental impact.” In order to achieve such promising results, and with so many different members involved, it has been key for the consortium to adhere to a set of user needs that consider individual system requirements whilst creating the technological baseline to solve each users’ pain points (e.g. specific formatting and delivery expectations for existing modelling systems). Furthermore, the quality of the data is being constantly monitored and validated, and all consortium members are being kept up-to-date on the results with performance indicators in place (such as SWE accuracy, inflow expectations, output management, and seasonal forecasting), that may identify any uncertainties and allow for corrections to modelling or data methodology to be made. The initial observations and preliminary results have


revealed some excellent opportunities for operational and commercial optimisation, whilst enabling the participants to effectively collaborate towards the government’s long-term climate strategy for net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050. ●


Funding helps accelerate predictive analytics platform for dams


Niricson Software Inc., a specialist in applying data fusion and machine learning to improve inspection outcomes in critical concrete structures, recently announced that a financial investment has been made by Bentley iTwin Ventures, a part of Bentley Acceleration Initiatives, that will accelerate the development of Niricson’s patent pending data collection (DRONIC) and analytics SaaS platform (AUTOSPEX). It will also enable Niricson to quickly scale it’s solutions leveraging Bentley’s iTwin®


Platform.


Founded in 2020 and backed by a few of the most established engineering companies like Arcadis, Niricson has grown to be trusted by some of the largest hydro dam operators and bridge infrastructure engineering firms in North America. DRONIC, Niricson’s unique patent-pending multilayered data collection technology and architecture, allows asset owners to capture the baseline condition data faster, at a reduced cost, more accurately, and safely compared to the traditional methods, the company said. AUTOSPEX leverages the data collected and fused in DRONIC and provides visibility and insights into the changing condition of high consequence concrete structures by tracking how defects change over time, allowing asset managers and civil engineers to make informed and proactive decisions on their repair/rehabilitation plans. “We’re excited to be building this partnership with Bentley, a


world leader in the infrastructure software industry,” said Harsh Rathod, Co-Founder and CEO of Niricson Software Inc. “Bentley’s iTwin®


Platform, their industry leadership in infrastructure digital


twin engineering and asset lifecycle, will help us significantly accelerate development and build additional capabilities to support predictive analytics. Santanu Das, Chief Acceleration Officer, Bentley Systems, added: “When inspecting infrastructure, a visual inspection often only provides part of the picture of the health of a particular asset. This is particularly true with critical concrete infrastructure where catastrophic losses can occur if hidden defects aren’t promptly identified and remediated. We are excited to partner with Harsh and his team in continuing the development of novel solutions for uncovering and tracking changes in concrete structures utilizing our iTwin®


platform in the process.”


16 | April 2022 | www.waterpowermagazine.com


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