Valmet wins Finnish hydropower automation upgrade

Valmet will modernise turbine automation and selected electrical systems at three Kainuun Voima hydropower installations in Kajaani, Finland. Its order covers Koivukoski II, Koivukoski III, and Ämmäkoski, replacing existing third-party control equipment with the Valmet DNAe distributed control platform. The scope also extends to generator synchronisation, protection, excitation, and auxiliary systems at specified sites. Valmet expects the upgraded equipment to enter operation in the fourth quarter of 2027, alongside turbine rehabilitation work.

Valmet recorded the order in the third quarter of 2026 and disclosed the project details on 4 November, without specifying the contract value. The plants will retain their generation infrastructure while receiving upgraded control and electrical functions. Integrating the changes with turbine rehabilitation is an important element of the programme: mechanical equipment, generator systems, and automatic controls must respond consistently to changes in water flow and electrical loading. The order is for modernisation across the three named units, rather than construction of new hydroelectric generating capacity.

The Valmet DNAe distributed control system will combine Hydro Turbine Automation with balance-of-plant functions and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA). Operators will be able to monitor and control the three stations from a central control room, replacing some of the interfaces between previously separate systems. The distributed architecture gathers measurements and manages equipment commands across plant subsystems, while SCADA provides operating information, alarms, and supervision. Coordinating those functions reduces the complexity of tracing faults between control layers and supports more consistent maintenance across the sites.

The exact electrical scope differs between the three generating stations. Valmet will supply new synchronising equipment at Ämmäkoski and Koivukoski II, alongside upgrades to existing generator protection and excitation systems. Synchronising equipment is used when connecting a generator to an energised power system, checking the necessary relationship between voltage, frequency and phase before a breaker closes. Excitation equipment controls the field of a synchronous generator and affects voltage and reactive-power behaviour. Protection systems detect abnormal electrical conditions and initiate the required isolation or other responses.

At Koivukoski III, the contract includes upgrades to medium-voltage and low-voltage systems, protection arrangements, direct-current power systems and control equipment. Direct-current supplies can support essential control and protection functions when operating conditions elsewhere in a plant change. The scope also includes flood protection at Ämmäkoski. Those systems illustrate the breadth of a hydropower control upgrade: turbine commands, generating equipment, auxiliary electrical power and water-related safeguards all have to operate as a coordinated installation, not as unrelated software replacements.

Centralised monitoring operates alongside protection functions that must act at equipment level when faults occur. Turbine controls use measurements of rotational speed, water movement, and generator conditions to regulate plant output, while electrical protection monitors abnormalities such as specified voltage and current deviations. The modernised system must integrate those responses with the existing machinery and the rehabilitation programme. Valmet has not released detailed site acceptance criteria, so measured improvements in availability or maintenance response will only become clear after integration and commissioning.

Kainuun Voima’s hydropower assets are located on the Kajaaninjoki River in eastern Finland. The operator has roughly 30MW of installed hydro capacity and produces around 100,000MWh of electricity annually, according to Valmet. Those figures apply to its broader hydropower estate, including Koivukoski I, rather than representing the individual output of the three units named in this contract. The award specifies Koivukoski II, Koivukoski III, and Ämmäkoski, and the engineering scope varies by station rather than applying identical equipment changes at each site.

Kimmo Keinänen, chief executive of Kainuun Voima, expects the integrated controls to reduce the number of interfaces and shorten response times for maintenance and servicing. The utility also wants its automation to respond more effectively to the operating requirements of the electricity market. Valmet’s solution manager Timo Stranius identifies central monitoring, turbine control, protection, and diagnostics as the main functions. The benefits will depend on careful migration from the old systems and on functional testing once the new platform is installed.

Hydropower automation is becoming more important as electricity systems require flexible generation to respond to changing demand and variable renewable output. A hydroelectric plant can adjust output through the controlled movement of water, but its flexibility remains constrained by available flow, turbine characteristics, environmental limits and equipment condition. Updated turbine controllers and coordinated excitation and protection can help plant operators implement changes consistently within those constraints; no new output rating or increase in installed hydro capacity has been claimed for this contract.

The equipment is scheduled to be operational by the final quarter of 2027. Before then, Valmet will have to coordinate the new distributed controls with turbine rehabilitation, new synchronising equipment, and the electrical changes specific to each station. Factory and site testing will establish whether the control and protection functions operate correctly together before handover. The specified outcome is a common supervision platform with modernised electrical interfaces across three existing hydropower installations, with operating performance to be assessed after commissioning.