Fleet Modernization, Maintenance, and Cybersecurity

Most U.S. hydropower plants are more than 50 years old. As the hydropower fleet continues to age, it is increasingly challenging to maintain efficient, cost-effective, and secure operations and infrastructure. Maintenance, or routine servicing of a system, can extend its life, but eventually a component must be refurbished or replaced. Between 2007 and 2017, the hydropower industry spent approximately $9 billion to upgrade and refurbish turbines and generators. Upgrades occur slowly due to the longevity of hydropower assets. In addition, hydropower facilities are diverse, with wide ranges of operational and physical characteristics, and there is limited information available on those differences. Hydropower and pumped storage hydropower plants are also increasingly connected to information technology systems, which heighten cybersecurity risks.

As the fleet ages, it is critical to modernize facilities and incorporate state-of-the-art capabilities into hydropower infrastructure to ensure continued benefits to the grid. Modernization of electrical, mechanical, and civil systems can:

• Improve efficiency and generation,
• Increase system and grid reliability,
• Enable new value propositions, and
• Ensure critical infrastructure security. 

Through its Fleet Modernization, Maintenance, and Cybersecurity Activity Area, WPTO aims to address these challenges through the following approaches: 

• Classify diverse hydropower plants by mechanical and cyber-physical systems and identify exemplary facilities and best practices
• Develop digitalization systems and advanced sensor suites to empower data-driven decisions on operation and maintenance and asset management
• Research advanced technologies and data evaluation approaches to improve equipment longevity and condition-based repair
• Create cybersecurity tools and studies to articulate the cybersecurity target, risk, and recovery landscape.