environmental monitoring for hydro-power generating group name: wg#1 source: kerry-lynn gauci,...

Environmental Monitoringfor Hydro-Power Generating

Group Name: WG#1Source: Kerry-Lynn Gauci, Inmarsat, [email protected] Date: 2013-02-25Agenda Item: TBC

Hydro-Power Generation

• Hydro Electrical plants have a critical requirement for accurate water flow rates in order to determine the amount of power they can generate.

• Upstream water catchment areas and snow stores must be monitored because weather forecasts are not accurate enough.

• These sensors are located in remote locations where there is no option other than satellite.

© 2013 oneM2M PartnersoneM2M-REQ-2013-0123

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Why it is relevant

• There is increased demand:– Global climate change requires more accurate

monitoring– Green energy applications are significantly

effected by temperature, pressure, water levels and snow levels and seismic activity.

• Only satellite M2M supplies a communications infrastructure that can exist in the remote locations where these sensors need to reside.


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When it is used

• Hydro-Power Generation would require remote monitoring in two situations:– Where it needs to monitor the flow and supply of

water to generate the power– Where it needs to understand the environmental

impact hydro-electricity has on surrounding ecosystems for the storage of water and resulting change in natural flow.


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Flow and Supply of Water

• Related to the regional climate:– Cold climates get their water supply from snow:• Reservoirs are located in high locations and catchment

areas cover extensive mountain regions• snow levels, melting periods and supplies are

inconsistent throughout the year.

– Tropical areas get their water supply from downfalls during wet seasonal periods.

• Fundamental to hydro-power generation.


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Environmental Impact

• Regulations are in place to ensure systems minimize impact on local environments.

• Close monitoring and reporting is done on:– Soil salinity– Water levels– Fish stock levels– Erosion.

• Not critical for power generation but required historically for trend analysis.


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What it is triggered by

• There are two triggers that initiate information being sent through satellite M2M:– Constant Polling– Conditional Polling.


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Constant Polling

• The hydro operator can set sensor polling rates for real-time or historical data for trending analysis.

• Polling rates depend on:– the rate of change in environmental conditions– how often data is required to make a decision on

flow rates through the penstock.

• Rates are constant.


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Conditional Polling

• The remote terminal unit (RTU) can send back data to the host based on:– specified events– sharp rise in water levels– temperature – any specific data.


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How it works


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Satellite Communication

• For environmental monitoring, satellite communication must:– Report in real-time (less than 1 second round trip

time) for power generating water flow sensors (flow and supply of water)

– Report in near real-time for non-power generating sensors (environmental impact).


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Communication Service

• For environmental monitoring, the satellite communication service must:– Operate in a satellite band that is not affected by

weather (rain and snow)– Work over a secure IP data service– Have reliability between 99.5% and 99.9%.


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Satellite Terminals

• For environmental monitoring, satellite terminals must:– Operate over a large thermal dynamic range– Have high ingress protection– Operate on extremely low power– Integrate into multiple and differing RTUs– Support RS-232/RS-422 serial ports • A terminal server can be used for IP only satellite

terminals at the cost of additional power/complexity.


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More Terminal Considerations

• When IP based RTUs are required, satellite IP only terminals must contain an Ethernet port.

• Where RS-232/RS-422 serial ports are needed a terminal server must be used at a cost of additional power and complexity.

• RTU and Satellite terminal shall:– Support both UDP and TCP. UDP is the preferred protocol for

SCADA networks to reduce total traffic. – Note: Reliability usually provided by TCP is provided by

application and satellite layers.© 2013 oneM2M Partners)

oneM2M-REQ-2013-012314

oneM2M Considerations

• Hydro-Power Generation requires M2M for remote monitoring of sensors for water flow and environmental impact analysis.

• Satellite M2M can meet their requirements of:– High availability– Security– Remote location of sensors– Ruggedized exteriors– A lower power usage than traditional satellite.


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environmental monitoring for hydro-power generating group name: wg#1 source: kerry-lynn gauci,...

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