rePLANT - Management of Forest Fires

‘rePLANT', a collaborative initiative by Portuguese TSO REN, whereness, & University of Coimbra introduces innovative risk management systems that monitor and detect the risk of forest fires. Based on scientific and technological knowledge, the initiative brings new, more efficient and intelligent equipment for the forest that protects the environment from the harmful effects of wildfires, as well as increases the resilience of power lines.

rePLANT mobilizes 20 entities, including companies in the forest sector, in a common and coordinated effort to implement 8 Collaborative Strategies. It brings team of experts with over 30 years of experience in fire management to develop technology that detects and mitigates persistent issues of forest fires.

Highlights

• Infrastructure Monitoring and Decision Support System that focuses on the time and place where it will likely impact the gas and electricity transmission network.
• Optical cameras on REN’s grids located in the forest provide real-time images, georeferencing the point of ignition, and information on state of vegetation.
• Fire Propagation Simulator which can determine the propogation of fire, based on local wind, fire, fuel and topography conditions.

About the project

Recently, frequent forest fires have highlighted the importance of resilient grid infrastructures. In Portugal, 66% of REN's right of way is in forested areas, and is susceptible to frequent forest fires, with an average of 5000 occurrences each year. rePLANT helps develop vital measures to detect and reduce the impact of forest fires. The information gathered by REN is also shared with relevant authorities and companies to create optimal solutions in a collaborative manner.