Artificial intelligence as a facilitator of the energy transition

Abstract

There is a dramatic transformation occurring across the world. Efforts to decarbonize the energy sector are leading to an increasingly decentralized energy system. Power, heating, transport, building and industry sectors are progressively more interconnected. In addition, new business models and innovative technological solutions are driving change in the power industry. The new system being unfolded requires a much higher level of flexibility and coordination. The increased complexities can only be mitigated by actively managing the energy supply chain. In this context, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to play a key role in numerous areas such as demand forecasting, predictive maintenance, energy management and customer support. Among digital technologies, AI is the one with the highest adoption rate in the power sector. Considering the growing importance of AI, the paper analyses the current status and future prospects of the technology in the power industry. It also explores different issues and barriers to its wider adoption. The review of possible applications is conducted by analysing academic literature and by observing numerous companies around the world that are developing and implementing AI solutions on the grid’s edge.