Artificial Intelligence Could Help Save Trillions in Clean Energy Transitions

Using artificial intelligence in conjunction with other clean energy sources such as wind farms can save investors $1.3 trillion in energy transitions over the next 30 years, according to a report from U+.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can help achieve greater energy efficiency, accelerate a clean energy transition and reduce costs, especially by helping with renewable power generation, demand forecasting and management, and grid operation and optimization, according to the report. An additional AI investment of $188 million will help extend the life of grids.

The U+ report also highlights the growth in a variety of energy uses over the next 30 years. For example, renewable energy will increase from 1.5 terawatts to 12 terawatts and battery storage will go from 11 gigawatts to 1.3 terawatts.

The report says by not implementing AI, the cost increase for power systems could increase 6% to 13% by 2040.

A World Economic Report last year said AI would play a key role in connecting the power, transportation and building industries, among other sectors, and could decentralize the power industry. That report also says AI helps integrate renewable energy resources into the power grid, supporting proactive and autonomous electricity distribution systems.

AI is growing in use for efficiency and sustainability in a variety of industries. It can help with building management, electric vehicle charging and automated manufacturing, among other uses. The technology is increasingly being implemented in smart cities and used in smart meters as well.

It helps predict usage and increases resiliency by noticing possible failures, all of which can extend the life of grids and systems and reduce costs. The U+ report says AI is essential to the predictive maintenance of clean power systems.

Recently, a group of professors in the United States highlighted AI as an energy tool as they began a project to develop a smart grid that is resilient to natural events, such as last year’s winter storm in Texas which led to significant power failure. The group is using AI and neural networks to develop the platform.

U+ mentioned some key players in the AI industry, including Stem, Uplight, Greenbird, Dexter Energy Services and BluWave-ai. U+ also says that implementing AI systems should include a collaboration across multiple energy entities, such as power, transportation and construction.