Science Centres: Energy

Better data, better business, better environment

NIWA delivers data to energy companies for operational purposes, including maximising energy production while complying with consent conditions. Recently, we upgraded the environmental data collection network around the Tongariro Power Development at the request of Genesis Energy.

In the beginning

NIWA's Turangi-based field team servicing a remote rainfall station high in the Kaimanawa Ranges for Genesis Energy.

Logger and communications layout of NIWA data collection for Genesis Energy at Wairehu Canal.

Compliance monitoring station below the Rangipo Intake, Tongariro, for Genesis Energy.

The network originally consisted of 20 flow monitoring stations using a range of ageing and low resolution water level recording devices. Many stations had duplicate, and sometimes triplicate, sensors providing various outputs to a variety of users.

So NIWA and Genesis worked out a plan

• Remove duplicate sensors and provide one common sensor capable of providing outputs to multiple users
• Install state of the art recording and data transfer systems
• Provide for remote recalibration of flow outputs
• Provide backup communications paths for robust data transfers to Genesis

Then we set to work

NIWA’s Turangi-based field team installed Hydrologger 2000 water level loggers at all 20 sites. These loggers, made by NIWA’s subsidiary, Unidata, are standard, off-the-shelf equipment. The team developed an interface to provide for communications from these scientific grade sensors to Genesis' industrial-grade SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system, thus producing a cost effective system. The existing radio telemetry at all sites was upgraded to provide for a robust primary communications path to NIWA and a secondary communications path to Genesis via a direct Ethernet connection between the NIWA base and the Genesis SCADA network.

Recent enhancements

We extended the flow monitoring network to provide for more compliance monitoring locations and added a rainfall network to provide for inflow forecasting. A number of water quality stations were also installed to provide for compliance monitoring and early warning for lahar detection.

Genesis now gets

• Direct 12 second updates of water level, flow and battery voltage from all flow monitoring sites
• 20 minute backup updates of the same information
• 20 minute updates of rainfall from 10 remote stations throughout the network
• Flow and rainfall information for operational and compliance monitoring purposes

Environmental data are also provided to other agencies for

• Resource consent compliance (Regional Councils)
• Emergency response planning (Lahar and flood warning)
• Scientific research & technical investigations
• Recreational use (rafting, fishing, tramping, etc.)