Artificial intelligence to accelerate economical energy transition, WEF says

Artificial intelligence has "tremendous potential" to support and accelerate a reliable and lowest-cost energy transition, a new report by the World Economic Forum has revealed. Through its high-tech applications, AI can integrate renewable energy resources into the power grid, support an autonomous electricity distribution system and open up new revenue streams for demand-side flexibility, WEF said in its Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Accelerate Energy Transition report compiled in collaboration with BloombergNEF and Deutsche Energie-Agentur (dena) – the German energy agency. AI can create substantial value for the global energy transition, the report said. Every 1 per cent of additional efficiency in demand will create $1.3 trillion in value between 2020 and 2050 due to reduced investment needs, according to BloombergNEF's net-zero scenario modelling. This could be achieved by enabling greater energy efficiency and flexing demand. "In energy, we are only seeing the beginning ...