POWER and RE+ Tech Supp September 2022 - 43

SEPTEMBER 2022 | WWW.POWERMAG.COM
to give some idea, I would say that we
use AI in the form of rules that automatically
ramp power plants up/down
by speeding up or slowing down their
speed governors, in the form of neural
networks that perform load forecasting
based on historic data and
the present state data (time of day,
metering values, etc.), in the form of
economic dispatch systems that leverage
these forecasts, and in the form
of reinforcement learning for statistically
based automated bid generation
in open markets. Our electricity
grids combined with their associated
controls and markets are arguably the
most complex machines that humans
have built.
POWER: How can AI benefit centralized
generation, and can it provide
cost savings for power customers?
Witmer: Centralized power systems
continue to thrive from significant
economies of scale. Centralized power
systems enable equal access to
clean power at the lowest cost, reducing
economic inequality. I view
large renewable power plants that are
owned by independent power producers
as centralized power generation,
dispatched by centralized grid
operators. Regardless of whether the
path forward is more or less centralized,
AI brings value to all parties. Not
only does it maximize revenue for any
specific asset (thus the asset owner), it
also reduces overall electricity prices
for all consumers.
POWER: How important is AI to
smart grids? How important is AI to
the integration of e-mobility (electric
vehicles, etc.) to the grid?
Witmer: AI is very important to smart
grids. AI is extremely important to the
integration of smart charging of electric
vehicles, and leveraging of those
mobile batteries for grid services when
they are plugged into the grid (vehicles
to grid, or V2G). However, the more
a process that involves a lot of modeling,
or simulations of what-if scenarios.
That model must be as accurate
as possible, including the controls
behavior of not only the new plant in
question, but also the rest of the grid
and/or markets nearby.
As more AI is used in the actual conArtificial
intelligence and machine learning
will be major aspects of future power
generation, helping make various generation
types more efficient, reliable, and
safe, and helping customers better interact
with electricity providers. Courtesy:
Wartsila
important piece is for the right market
forces to be created (economics), so
that people can realize the value (actually
get paid) for allowing their vehicles
to participate in these kinds of services.
The mobile batteries of EVs will be
under-utilized if we do not integrate
the controls for charging/discharging
this equipment in a way that gives
both the consumers the ability to opt
in/out of any service but also for the
centralized dispatch to leverage this
equipment as well. It's less a question
of AI, and more a question of economics
and human behavioral science.
Once the economics are leveraged
and the right tools are in place, then
AI will be able to forecast the availability
and subsequent utility that the grid
will be able to extract from the variable
infrastructure of plugged in EVs.
POWER: How important is AI to the
design and " construction " of virtual
power plants?
Witmer: Interesting question. On one
level, this is a question that raises an
existential threat to aspects of my own
job (but that's a good thing because
if a computer can do it, I don't want
to do it!). It's a bit of a chicken-andegg
scenario. Today, any power plant
(virtual or actual), is designed through
www.re-plus.com
text of this new potential power plant,
the model must also contain a reflection
of that same AI. No model is perfect,
but as more AI gets used in the
actual dispatch of power plants, more
AI will be needed in the design and
creation process for new power plants
or aggregations of power generation
equipment.
POWER: What do you see as the future
of AI and machine learning for
power generation / utilities?
Witmer: The short-term future is simply
an extension of what we see today.
As more renewables come onto the
grids, we will see more negative price
events and more price volatility. AI will
be able to thrive in that environment.
I suspect that as time goes on, the
existing market structures will cease
to be the most efficient for society.
In fact, AI is likely going to be able to
take advantage of some of those 'legacy'
features (think Enron).
Hopefully the independent system
operators of the world can adapt
quickly enough to the changing conditions,
but I remain skeptical of that
in all scenarios. With growing renewables
that have free 'fuel,' the model
of vertically integrated utilities with
an integrated resource planning (IRP)
process will likely yield the most economically
efficient structure. I think
that we will see growing inefficiencies
in regions that have too many manufactured
rules and structure imposed
by legacy markets, designed around
marginal costs of operating fossil fuel-burning
plants. n
-Darrell Proctor is senior
associate editor for POWER
(@POWERmagazine).
43
http://WWW.POWERMAG.COM https://twitter.com/POWERmagazine http://www.re-plus.com
POWER and RE+ Tech Supp September 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER and RE+ Tech Supp September 2022
