Endesa models hydroelectric plants with digital twins

Endesa is creating digital twins of its hydroelectric plants to improve their operation, management and maintenance.

The initiative was launched with a pilot at the El Pintado plant in Seville in 2023, with the installation of 360^o cameras and lidar cameras, with which the 3D, high-resolution model could be created.

Subsequently, it has been extended to nine other plants – Tajo de la Encantada and Guillena in Andalusia, Eume and Moncabril in Galicia, Peñadrada in Castilla y León and Canelles, Sallente, Moralets and Serós in Catalonia.

“Endesa has 153 hydroelectric plants spread throughout Spain. Their management is essential but their location sometimes generates difficulties, so creating these digital twins has been crucial to improve their knowledge and operation,” comments Santiago Dominguez, head of of Endesa Hydroelectric Generation.

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“When people think about hydroelectric plants, they don't have an idea of their size, their operation and the importance they have in providing us with a 100% renewable supply.”

The initiative is being developed by Endesa's Hydro Iberia Predictive Maintenance team and creates a model similar to Street View but within the power plant.

With the digital twin, virtual visits can be made to the plants by personnel and suppliers to view the equipment installed there and the plant infrastructure.

The system also allows the linking of documentation of interest, such as plans, photographs, diagrams, manuals, databases, etc. to individual items of equipment and the systems that make up the hydro plant for easy consultation.

Coupled with the digital twin is a separately created what Dominguez calls a ‘diagnostic twin’ that receives more than 6,000 data points in real-time, such as temperature, pressure, speed, vibration, etc. From these future values can be estimated with alarms to warn if the input values are outside the range of those projected.

Endesa reports currently having digital twin diagnostic models implemented monitoring the most critical equipment in the 38 largest hydroelectric plants, representing nearly 70% of all installed power.

In 2023 Endesa also implemented an initiative to create a digital twin of its distribution network.