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New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
AI and renewables: What’s the potential and reality?
18/10/2023
6 min read
Feature
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have the potential to support, optimise and accelerate the development of renewables in the energy transition. New Energy World Features Editor Brian Davis offers an insight into a raft of AI applications – and also road tests ChatGPT.
AI offers an Aladdin’s cave of potential applications for optimisation of renewable energy, while also accelerating the transition from conventional fossil fuels and centralised electricity grid systems to a highly decentralised model.
However, reports by the likes of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Bloomberg NEF (BNEF), the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory, International Energy Association and others suggest that despite the promise of AI, it may be limited to pilot projects for predictive maintenance, cost reduction, recommendations for decarbonisation, and energy trading, at least in the short-term.
Nevertheless, as digitalisation and decarbonisation gain momentum, AI will have an important role to play in renewable power generation, distribution and demand, transport and construction. Indeed, as the complexity of managing power systems increases, there will be an inherent need to use AI for advanced analytics, supported by vast amounts of real-time data and automation.