Keynote Speaker

Abstract:

Modern critical infrastructures encompass facilities and systems vital to societal functions, in sectors such as health, transportation, food and energy. The matter of security in critical infrastructures, particularly renewable energy assets, is increasingly important nowadays in the context of extreme weather events and natural hazards, as it translates to safety threats and green energy production impediments. Focusing on wind farms, their strategic deployment in areas with favorable wind conditions has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, limit the reliance on fossil fuels and mitigate the impacts of climate change. This paper presents the framework of a risk assessment approach for on-shore wind farms, focusing on their vulnerability to extreme weather and environmental phenomena, including lightning strikes, ice formation, seismic activity, floods, high winds, and hurricanes. It involves an initial planning of risk identification and type of impact, while integrating risk assessment by examining factors of likelihood, frequency and severity, in order to evaluate potential repercussions on operational reliability and overall system performance. Additionally, mitigation strategies are being proposed to enhance safety and resilience, as well as management and maintenance protocols tailored to specific hazards. This work stresses the importance of risk-informed decision-making in safeguarding critical renewable energy infrastructures against the increasing frequency and severity of extreme natural events. While this paper covers the design aspects of risk assessment, the conclusions and products of this research contribute to a broader framework of an ongoing project concerning the development of an on-shore wind farm digital twin, which will facilitate real-time monitoring and control.

Biography:

Georgios Ntanis was born in Thessaloniki in 1979 and is currently working as a research associate in EU and national projects run by Hellenic Institute of Transport (HIT) of the Centre for Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH). He is an Electrical and Electronic Engineer, graduated from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, in 2002, specialized in telecommunications, signal & image processing and computer systems. He holds an MSc in Mobile and Distributed Computer Networks, awarded from Leeds Metropolitan University in 2004. His work experience has been accumulated from various sectors of industry, especially covering technical and consulting roles, that involve solution design and implementation. During this time, he has organized and run a number of technical seminars, trainings and workshops, introducing professional engineers to new technologies, while also keeping up-to-date by attending short courses and achieving further certifications.