This article is a short and concise introduction to how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be effectively used in the solar power industry, speeding up many processes and improving accuracy. A few crucial applications of AI as well as more effective solar installations, are mentioned below.
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to a wide range of software systems and applications that can acquire new skills, and develop their internal workings depending on prior experiences. It should be no surprise that AI has also made its way into the power industry, where it performs intelligent tasks to improve the security, efficiency, and the potential of power transmission, distribution, and consumption systems.
According to The International Energy Agency (IEA), solar energy is expected to account for 60% of the increase in global renewable capacity in 2022. To further maximize the effectiveness and dependability of renewables, many companies are utilizing the benefits of AI technologies. Since AI can significantly contribute to the modeling, analyzing, and forecasting of both the weather and the performance of renewable energy, AI is the most appropriate for solving problems posed by the variability of renewable energy.
Solar energy systems can be improved with AI algorithms
AI is very useful in industries with significant amounts of data, and because energy is one of them, by using training data, AI may come into play and produce findings that can substantially assist energy storage systems. Some examples of AI applications relating to demand and generation estimates, solar panel inspection, wind and solar forecasts, power grids, and storage units are shown below.
Wind and solar forecasts
AI can increase solar forecasting accuracy while lowering operational energy generating costs, starting and stopping expenses of traditional generators, and controlling solar power curtailment.
AI also utilizes a combination of meteorological and satellite data, numerical weather forecasting models, and statistical analysis to estimate wind and solar power projections. Many energy storage options are used to offset wind and solar energy output unpredictability, which is undoubtedly a crucial aspect.
Before the development of AI, most forecasting methods depended on specialized weather models that provided a limited perspective of the factors influencing the accessibility of renewable energy. Now, self-learning weather models, collections of historical weather data, real-time measurements from nearby weather stations, sensor networks, and cloud information collected from satellite photography and sky cameras have all been integrated into AI systems.
Demand and generation forecasting
Accurate predictions help the system run safely and reliably by balancing power supply and demand. They can also increase the operating efficiency of energy storage devices significantly. If an energy supplier knows how much power will cost at each hour of the day, they may store it during the cheapest hours and release it at peak hours.
AI is very effective at anticipating power output and consumption, hence the price at a given time. It achieves so by analyzing various data sources, including years of historical electrical data and weather data - particularly hot or cold days necessitate more air conditioning or heating, which drives electricity consumption.
Solar panel inspection using drone technology
The use of robot technology can aid remote inspection and maintenance tasks. When autonomous drones analyze solar panels continuously, they can collect data at least 50 times quicker than manual approaches while boosting operational safety. Drones can detect manufacturing flaws, cracks, and other problems by gathering data with specific thermal cameras, which may then be used to assess the severity of the problems.
AI for improving power grids and storage units
AI may be used to perform super-detailed modeling of energy usage across buildings, such as predicting passive solar capacity, wind speed, and building energy load. We may, for example, automatically shut furnaces down when power is low by integrating energy flow management systems.
AI is already transforming smart grids into fully intelligent, allowing them to meet future energy demands. Power grids may be outfitted with a variety of sensors that capture a vast quantity of data, which, when evaluated by artificial intelligence, delivers useful information to network administrators, allowing for increased control and flexibility.
The integration of AI in identifying the important areas for solar installations
The role of AI may also be crucial for determining areas for solar installations. Since solar panels are installed on rooftops, calculating the solar potential of each rooftop or inland water body can be time-consuming and expensive. However, with the help of machine learning, solar installations on both inland and on rooftops become easier and swifter. How else can AI be handy in solar installations?
- By using annotation tools, we can access a labeled dataset of rooftops and then determine their types and structures.
- Using image segmentation, AI can help in analyzing individual rooftops and identify available areas for solar panels, subtracting areas with obstacles from the whole.
- It can determine the quality of roof materials and give the probability of how the material will impact the installation process.
- AI will also decide the best solar panel direction so it may generate the most energy by having many hours of light exposure per day.
- Remote sensing techniques may be applied to satellite imagery to infer the depth of inland water bodies and then use the data for floating solar installation.
Key takeaways
Artificial intelligence allows a machine, robot, or device to mimic people's cognitive activity, and it is rapidly evolving in every industry. The solar power industry, which provides a reliable alternative energy source, is not an exception.
Since the world strives to make our environment greener and more sustainable, utilizing AI-based applications can guarantee a safe and smooth energy transition, which thereby will be an investment in saving our planet. There is no denying that in addition to solar energy's benefits and advantages, it also faces a lot of challenges that slow down the process.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning have become essential technology solutions in this industry, potentially solving most of the current challenges. Currently, studies have been involved in applying artificial intelligence methods to power and renewable energy systems, and the results are not disappointing.
About Author-
Melanie Johnson-
AI and computer vision enthusiast with a wealth of experience in technical writing. Passionate about innovation and AI-powered solutions. Loves sharing expert insights and educating individuals on tech.
