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Innovation in generation
In the field of Generation, we are committed to technological improvement managed from an open innovation model that uses innovation as a key tool in the improvement and development of the entire value chain. This will involve collaborating with external entities – start-ups, suppliers and research centres – while encouraging innovation internally through specific programmes such as "Make it Happen" and "PowerG".
Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals
Sustainable development goals
SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities
With the aim of improving efficiency in energy generation and to reduce the impact on the environment, we have developed technological innovation projects in a number of strategic areas.
The MEMPHIS and RECIBIL projects have been funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities under the Retos Colaboración programme. This aid is co-financed by the European Union through ERDF funds, with the aim of promoting technological development, innovation and quality research.
These initiatives are aimed at introducing new robotics solutions for the inspection of assets and to incorporate autonomous robots as support elements during the tasks associated with the operation of generation plants. For their development we worked hand-in-hand with numerous start-ups and technology companies to develop these projects, providing support during the development of new features and adapting solutions in each use case.
One of the main objectives of these projects is the improvement of inspection activities in maintenance tasks, both through the development of new technical capabilities and the reduction of personnel risks.
In this line, we have continued with the validation of solutions based on ground robots for the inspection of industrial assets and autonomous drones for the inspection of ducts and channels in hydraulic power plants. We also collaborated with start-ups for the development of specific solutions for the inspection of wind components in the field.
With regard to support robots for exploitation, we developed specific projects for the validation of solutions for the automatic cleaning of wind turbine blades, cleaning of photovoltaic modules and for the automatic clearing of vegetation in solar photovoltaic plants.
In order to have assets capable of better adapting to market requirements, we developed technological solutions focussed on improving plant efficiency and increasing operational flexibility. These include the following: Flexibility project in hydroelectric plants.
In the case of the construction of new renewable generation plants, we are developing solutions focussed on two aspects. The first involves the reduction of the time required for the job to be completed by identifying technologies for the pre-assembly of photovoltaic modules. And secondly, improvement in safety aspects for workers on site, reducing existing risks, with the validation of artificial viewing systems and protection systems for load lifting processes.
We are developing two pioneering projects in Spain focussed on the second life of wind assets and the battery sector.
With regard to the reduction of the environmental impact from generation activities, we are developing pilot projects in photovoltaic plants to validate the compatibility of power generation and agricultural production.
There should also be special mention for the initiatives developed to improve the protection systems for birds in the vicinity of wind farms, based on cameras and artificial intelligence.
We have not only worked on improving the reduction of the environmental impact, but also on that of workplace risks in operation and construction activities. This involved incorporating the use of artificial intelligence technologies for the identification of risk situations by workers. We should also add the development of a digital registration system for controlling access to wind turbines during maintenance tasks, whose objective is to restrict potential accidents resulting from a lack of coordination with the control centre.