Plant and Operational Safety of Hydro Power Plants

The construction of large hydropower plants involves potentially high risks for the health and lives of persons as well as for the environment. Therefore a particularly high level of safety is required for such plants. The implementation of such high safety standards in power plants begins with construction measures such as the selection of suitable material, dimensions and monitoring the quality of the individual components. Operational safety contributes essentially to the safety of the plant. This implies the safety of essential functions (e.g. shutting down safety). Risk analysis represents the core of functional safety, forming the basis for technical and organisational measures. Examples include: redundancies in the recording of reservoir water levels or organisational measures such as regular tests e.g. shutting down tests. The safe operation of hydropower plants over decades can only be maintained by carrying out every single step constantly. ZT Hirtenlehner