{"id":18847,"date":"2022-10-05T12:08:28","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T02:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/?p=18847"},"modified":"2023-11-28T11:03:56","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T01:03:56","slug":"an-intelligent-grid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/an-intelligent-grid\/","title":{"rendered":"An intelligent&nbsp;grid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">Our energy grid is becoming smarter as we transition towards a more renewable future. Thanks to AI, balancing supply and demand, and coordinating millions of smart devices is becoming a lot easier. So, is it time to bring in the robots? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Does the mention of artificial intelligence (AI) bring to mind visions of killer robots intent on world domination?&nbsp;You\u2019re probably not alone, but you may have watched The Terminator a few too many times&#8230;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What we\u2019re actually talking about is technology that can do what a human usually does. Lots of industries generate and use data &#8211; like gaming, shopping, cars, and even energy. AI is disrupting the way we do things, and it\u2019s completely changing the way our whole energy system operates.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And this is what we\u2019re exploring in the latest episode of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/about\/investors-media\/media-centre\/podcasts\/\">So Watt? <\/a>\u2013 a podcast about energy hosted by Dom Fay and Zach Mander from<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/zachanddom\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Collective Noun<\/a>. So, what role does data and artificial intelligence play in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/what-will-the-energy-transition-look-like\/\">energy transition<\/a>? Tune into episode three below or read on to find out.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/5ANX6ZaIEejewt6QR6tpDc?utm_source=generator&amp;theme=0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s delve into how these new technologies will help to manage and control energy supply, demand and storage \u2013 including the coordination of large-scale generation right through to devices in our homes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Screen time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s start by going behind-the-scenes of Origin\u2019s Monitoring and Support Centre, where the output from all of Origin\u2019s power plants are controlled. It\u2019s basically a room with a lot of screens, and each screen has data on each power plant, and the National Electricity Market (NEM), including how much wind and solar generation is out there, and what other power stations are doing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the NEM needs more energy, the team at Origin\u2019s Monitoring and Support Centre turn on more gas turbines, or ramp up the output from pumped hydro, to make sure there\u2019s enough. And when there\u2019s a lot of solar or wind during the day, they scale back other forms of generation.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Essentially, energy in the grid needs to balance supply and demand at all times. So, the team processes a huge amount of data each day to do that. In fact, there are over 3 trillion data points &#8211; and that\u2019s growing every day!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Predicting the future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Machine learning and AI play a key role in taking all this data to predict and manage changes across the grid &#8211; and it has the potential to unlock huge possibilities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the key things AI allows us to do is forecast. You\u2019ve heard of weather forecasting, economic forecasting and predictions on fashion trends\u2026 Well,\u202frenewable energy production and energy consumption also need to be forecast to get the balance right &#8211; which means managing fluctuations in renewable energy generation when it\u2019s cloudy or the wind stops blowing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it\u2019s data science (we swear this isn\u2019t just a fancy way of describing someone who\u2019s really good at Excel) that allows us to make these predictions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we transition away from an energy system built around large centralised power stations, to a more renewable one with millions of points of generation (think <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/solar\/\">rooftop solar<\/a>) and changing electricity demand, there will be more data and more variability to manage. Making the role of data science and forecasting critical.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The home of the future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>AI could be vital to unlocking the grid of the future.\u202fIt could help to use all of that data to manage the energy grid, determine where energy is needed and where that power needs to come from. It could also help Aussie households become smarter.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, AI can orchestrate a home\u2019s energy requirements on behalf of the occupants.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/solar\/\">rooftop solar<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/solar\/\">a home battery<\/a>, heating and cooling, an EV or other smart and flexible devices &#8211; then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/smart-devices-reduce-energy-use\/\">smart tech<\/a> could turn them on and off at the best times to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/12-tips-for-an-energy-efficient-home\/\">minimise your energy costs<\/a> and maximise comfort&#8230; All while helping to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/how-spike-supports-demand-management\/\">manage demand on the grid<\/a>. You wouldn\u2019t even need to flick a switch. Pretty smart, huh?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s all about managing flexibility in supply and demand \u2013 because renewables are variable, demand must be more flexible too. And one way to achieve this demand flexibility is with the assistance of AI.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/about\/investors-media\/media-centre\/podcasts\/\">Find out more about So Watt?<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Hosts, Zach and Dom from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/zachanddom\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Collective Noun<\/a>\u00a0admit they know nothing about energy \u2013 but not for long! Origin\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2cmDgnbcFRK1kFZWxITSM8\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">So Watt? podcast<\/a>\u00a0questions everything you thought you knew about energy, and explores the solutions that exist today. In season two of So Watt?, go on a journey with Zach and Dom to find out more about\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/what-will-the-energy-transition-look-like\/\">the transition to renewables<\/a>, what changes are already happening and what\u2019s coming up.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our energy grid is becoming smarter as we transition towards a more renewable future. Thanks to AI, balancing supply and demand is becoming easier. So, is it time to bring in the&nbsp;robots?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":18849,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[108],"tags":[125,45,130],"oe_author":[],"class_list":["post-18847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-future-energy","tag-generation","tag-renewable-energy","tag-so-watt"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18847"},{"taxonomy":"oe_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oe_author?post=18847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}