Digitalizaion in Hydropower – White paper

This paper sets out a practical European agenda for the digitalisation of hydropower. It is written for policymakers,
regulators, transmission system operators, plant owners and operators, equipment and digital-technology
suppliers, research organisations and universities.
The central argument is straightforward. Europe already possesses a large hydropower fleet, much of it built
several decades ago. The refurbishment decisions taken during the next investment cycle will shape the technical
capabilities of that fleet for a further generation. Digitalisation should therefore be treated as part of asset
modernisation and energy-system policy, not as an optional information-technology add-on.
In this paper, digitalisation means the purposeful use of reliable data, models, connectivity and control to improve
decisions over the life of a hydropower asset. It includes instrumentation, data governance, condition monitoring,
forecasting, optimisation, digital twins, cybersecurity and human-machine interaction. It does not imply replacing
accountable operators with autonomous algorithms. Three related terms are used consistently: digitisation for
the conversion of analogue information into digital data, digitalisation for the use of digital technologies to
improve processes, and digital transformation for the wider organisational and operational change they enable.
Artificial intelligence is used as the umbrella term, with machine learning and deep learning as its subsets.
The statistical scope is stated explicitly. Figures labelled “Europe” may include non-EU countries where the source
uses a wider regional definition. Recommendations on legislation, funding and market design are directed
primarily to the European Union and its Member States, while many of the technical and organisational
recommendations also apply across the wider European hydropower community.