Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Energy and Utilities, 2018

Technology Convergence of AI with IoT, Cloud, and Big Data will Open Up Numerous Application Opportunities in the Energy Sector

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the biggest technological trends transforming every business sector across the world. With advances in computer technology, AI has scaled new heights in utility and application, exceeding all initial expectations. By leveraging advanced machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) algorithms, and advanced neural networks (ANN), AI can handle terabytes of structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data from disparate sources and identify patterns, as well as make predictions and recommendations based on its understanding of the data. This intelligence is being harnessed to develop innumerable smart applications that can efficiently take critical decisions autonomously and accurately, without human intervention.

Currently, the global energy market is undergoing a massive shift with the emergence of decarbonization, decentralization, and new technologies. Utilities, independent power producers (IPPs), and other energy companies are exploring effective ways to manage the imbalance in demand and supply caused by the growing use of unpredictable renewable energy source (RES) in power generation. Therefore, utilities, energy companies, and grid operators are exploring ways to employ AI technologies to improve the accessibility and efficiency of renewable energy technologies. Despite its nascence, AI possesses tremendous potential to transform the energy & utilities sector. In combination with other technologies like Big Data and IoT, it can aid the active management of electricity grids by balancing demand and supply.

This market insight provides a detailed analysis of the current and future applications of AI in the energy & utilities sector, across the entire energy industry value chain.

The study includes the following:

• Technology trends, which includes AI, its evolution, and the different disciplines in which it is being used
• Industry trends, which includes the application of AI across different business verticals, with use cases
• Geographical adoption and key companies that dominate the global AI market
• The applications of AI across the three main application segments of renewables management, demand management, and infrastructure management

The case studies provide an overview of the current challenges in certain areas of the industry and showcase the ways in which AI can be a better solution than manual methods.