I remember that it was in the summer of 2022 when my environmental consulting firm received a very challenging monitoring project. The environmental protection department of a province requires an assessment of the ecological flow of all hydropower stations in its jurisdiction and recommendations for rectification. As a project leader, I know the importance of this work.
(key-iot.com.cn)
The state has increasingly strict requirements for the ecological protection of hydropower stations, and the power stations must ensure sufficient ecological flow discharge and maintain the balance of the river ecosystem. However, due to the lack of advanced flow monitoring methods, the ecological water management of most power stations has remained at the empirical level, and the data is lacking, and the effect is difficult to evaluate.
Therefore, we decided to introduce an intelligent flow monitoring solution in this assessment, replacing the traditional empirical approach with digital management of the system. At the kick-off meeting, we introduced this new monitoring solution to the power station...
Solution Overview
The whole solution consists of two parts: one is to use a multi-beam water flow probe to achieve uninterrupted online monitoring of ecological flow; The second is to establish an intelligent management system based on the Internet of Things, remotely control flow monitoring and integrate with power generation scheduling.
Specifically, we have installed an electromagnetic multi-beam flowmeter at a reasonable location in the diversion channel, which has the characteristics of anti-erosion and anti-pollution, and can accurately and automatically measure the instantaneous flow and cumulative flow of the narrow water flow channel. The output data will be directly collected by the wireless communication module and transmitted to the monitoring center through encryption.
The monitoring center adopts a browser-based web operation and maintenance management cloud platform system. After all the data is aggregated to the cloud, the system automatically analyzes the data, predicts and makes alarm judgments. 24 hours a day, you can control the current status of ecological traffic.
Even better, the system supports integration with the power station's production scheduling system, and the ecological flow monitoring data will be incorporated into the closed-loop control of the existing power generation management, so that the power station can achieve a reasonable balance between power generation and ecological protection.
The core of the solution is to break through the drawbacks of traditional environmental monitoring, which is relatively passive and lagging behind, and realize the real-time intelligent management and control of the ecological flow of power stations, especially small power stations.
Monitoring record of the western power station
After several months of painstaking implementation, we finally completed the installation, commissioning and trial operation of the first intelligent flow monitoring system on a hydropower station project in a small western town.
I still remember the day of on-site installation, the dense typhoon and rain were disturbing, but we still meticulously completed the installation and commissioning of the flowmeter and the Internet of Things communication terminal. The automatic detection function of the flow probe also passed one by one in the pouring rain. Looking at the real-time traffic data presented on the monitoring screen for the first time, there is indeed a great sense of accomplishment.
For the next month or so, I was stationed in the local area, paying close attention to the ecological traffic trend of this power station through the cloud platform every day. Under the big data analysis of flow data, we also found some "dead ends" that were missed in long-term management: such as a blocked flow branch canal, water leakage caused by the rust of a group of ecological drainage holes, etc. After the fix, the data shows that the traffic monitoring is more accurate.
We also developed a tailor-made operational process for the plant, setting ecological flow thresholds and setting up an early warning mechanism. When an abnormal shift in ecological traffic is detected, the system will push an alarm SMS to the O&M staff's mobile phone as soon as possible. With close monitoring, they no longer have to worry about accidents with ecological protection flows.
The system also has a remote wireless control function, after authorization, the monitoring center can directly and remotely operate the power station's opening, adjust the discharge valve and other facilities, and actively intervene in the flow regulation. This function also provides a very convenient means to deal with unexpected situations.
With the accumulation of monitoring data, the power station has gradually formed a set of scientific ecological flow management standards and methods. Staff told me that through digital management, the output required to maintain the ecological base flow of the riverbed has been significantly reduced, and energy consumption has been reduced by more than 15% compared to before.
After three months of operation, the new system is fully qualified for the management needs of intelligent monitoring, scientific scheduling, remote control and so on. Such an intelligent monitoring method also has reference significance for other hydropower stations, storage and detention reservoirs, and river water environmental protection.
The use of intelligent digital means to manage the ecological flow of power stations has become the only way for the green and low-carbon transformation and development of the power system. I am also glad that through this project practice, we have promoted an innovative breakthrough in the environmental monitoring of hydropower stations. This is not only to shape the environmental image of the power industry, but also to take due responsibility for the precious water ecological environment.