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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's expanding role in the energy transition
6/11/2024
News
A new report has highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to drive the energy sector towards net zero through efficiency gains, methane emissions reduction and carbon-free innovations. In the US, two government departments are stepping up their ability to be able to respond to threats caused by AI, while Masdar is teaming up with Presight to develop AI-driven tools for renewable energy management worldwide.
New report highlights AI’s critical role in accelerating the energy transition
Emirati energy company ADNOC, state-owned renewables firm Masdar and Microsoft have jointly published a report exploring the ‘transformative potential’ of AI in driving the global energy sector towards a net zero future. The report highlights AI’s potential to optimise energy efficiency, manage complex energy systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and innovate carbon-free energy solutions while addressing the growing energy demands of AI technology itself.
The report also highlights AI’s capacity to reduce methane emissions. Advanced AI tools being developed are anticipated to detect methane leaks with up to 20% greater accuracy compared to legacy technologies. These innovations are expected to play a vital role in helping the energy sector achieve the Global Methane Pledge, which aims for a 30% reduction in methane emissions by 2030.
The report also provides a roadmap to address data centres’ rising energy demands, which are projected to nearly double their share of global electricity demand by 2026. The report highlights that while at a global scale AI’s electricity consumption is relatively small, in some regions such as the European Union, electricity demand for data centres can be a large percentage of total load. There, where data centre electricity demand is expected to increase at ~9% per year, exceeding 5% of the total regional load by 2026, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Masdar and Presight sign agreement to develop AI asset management tool
In other news, Masdar has signed an agreement with Presight, a UAE-based data analytics company powered by AI, to develop an asset management tool for its renewable energy projects.
In so doing, Masdar aims to digitise its operations worldwide, moving from a reactive model to a predictive approach where it can analyse data and operational patterns to anticipate issues in advance, enhance efficiency, address failures before they occur, reduce downtime and ultimately boost energy production, the company says.
Masdar Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi comments: ‘The integration between AI and energy is a game-changing economic opportunity that will enable us to build a bridge to a low-carbon, high-growth future.’
US government to advance use of AI
Earlier this year, the US Departments of Energy (DOE) and Commerce (DOC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on safety research, testing and evaluation of advanced AI models and systems.
This announcement follows the recent release of the first-ever National Security Memorandum on AI. It designates a specific Institute for AI efforts and identifies a substantial role for the DOE in helping the government understand and mitigate AI safety risks and improve the performance and reliability of AI models and systems.
Through this MoU, the DOE and DOC intend to evaluate the impact of AI models on public safety, including risks to critical infrastructure, energy security and national security. Key focus areas include developing classified evaluations of advanced AI models’ chemical and biological risks, as well as developing and evaluating privacy enhancing technologies that aim to protect personal and commercial proprietary data.
