As artificial intelligence is becoming more of a comman standard, there are many

industries it is being applied to. One of these industries is new and renewable
energy. There are many reasons why artificial intelligence (AI) should be paired with
new energy. As our society shifts to using more renewable energy, there will be a lot
of work needed to make this transition as smooth as possible. According to the
World Economic Forum, this transition will need to be carefully managed to minimize
any potential negative environmental impacts. As AI works to optimize processes
and data, it would be extremely beneficial to oversee and manage this transition.

Much of the cost of renewable energy is infrastructure-based, such as replacing wind

turbine parts. With AI, this cost can be reduced, as AI can forecast as well as
manage each of the millions of assets from one renewable energy farm, increasing
energy efficiency and use. Implementing robotics or even supercomputers can help
mitigate costs as well, as robotics can help modernize infrastructures and
supercomputers can help predict energy usage and efficiency. As most energy
sources need constant monitoring, including renewable energy, AI programs can do
this monitoring, saving time and money for energy companies.

Because of AI’s ability to predict and forecast based on inputted data, it can mitigate
any potential energy surges, as well as help with changing environmental factors,
like cloudy days or wind gusts. This can help increase energy efficiency as well as
minimize the cost of replacing any infrastructure. Equally important is accurate
demand forecasting – and here, too, AI has a key role to play given its ability to
optimize economic load dispatch and improve demand-side management. Increasing
installation of smart meters has enabled demand data to be sent to utility providers.
AI algorithms can absorb the data, which can be sent as frequently as hourly, and
predict network load and consumption habits accurately.

For consumers, utility bills can be reduced, with AI systems predicting a building’s
thermal energy demand to produce heating and cooling at the correct times through
optimization of home solar and battery systems. Efficiency gains are combined with
load shifting to times when electricity is cheapest, with renewable electricity available
in the system.

In the all-important flexibility jigsaw, the ability to understand consumers’ habits and
actions creates greater flexibility in a smart grid because AI algorithms can make
predictions about a building’s energy use 24 hours in advance, based on its
experiences in the past.

Battery storage also has an important role to play in providing demand flexibility, with
AI again playing a pivotal part. As storage batteries can be activated quickly and
used to manage excessive peaks – as well as minimize the back-up energy needed
from diesel generators, coal-fired power plants or other gas-fired “peaker” plants that
are utilized at peak demand – AI can predict and make energy storage management
decisions by considering forecast demand, renewable energy generation, prices and
network congestion, among other variables.
In some cases, AI is already being implemented by renewable energy companies.
For example, Texas-based company Inno watts has 21 million customers and uses
machine learning to optimize energy usage. IBM’S own DeepMind AI platform has
been used by Google to send over 700 megawatts of wind power to the center of the
U.S. This much energy could power a small city. Even non-renewable energy
companies are transitioning to using AI technology. ExxonMobil has recently
partnered with IBM to use AI to try and optimize carbon capture.

Mountain View-based startup Bidgely Inc., for example, uses AI to provide granular

visibility and analytics into households’ energy generation and consumption. Through
it, users can identify which electric appliances are being used and when, as well as
how efficiently they are performing, enabling the offering of real-time energy saving
plans, rate programs and rebates

Jungle.ai, based in Lisbon, is one of the companies that have succeeded in

producing highly accurate power forecasts based on deep learning models, asset
telemetry and numerical weather predictions. In particular, solar and wind energy
producers can leverage this offering to estimate generation capabilities and reduce
the cost of variabilities in their power output.

eSmart Systems, headquartered in Norway, is an up-and-coming player in this

space, focused on the maintenance of electric utility infrastructure. It uses AI
algorithms to analyze aerial and ground-based images of renewable energy units,
enabling fast and reliable anomaly detection and repair.

While AI will not make renewable energy a completely hands-off process for our
society, it will help to smooth the transition to using renewable energy. Some experts
have even argued that we can’t transition to renewable energy without AI there to
help. With the upgrades being made to AI, it will not be surprising if it continues to be
applied to the renewable energy sector.