Issue Transformation of power supply and demand through the energy and AI nexus

Summary

The issue describes a system transition in which AI is applied across generation, transmission, distribution, storage and consumption to forecast renewable supply and demand, optimise grids, raise efficiency and manage distributed resources. At the same time, the rapid spread of AI and the growth of AI data centres and cloud infrastructure place a structural burden on electricity demand and infrastructure, so energy and AI are becoming mutually entangled. More renewables and distributed resources make grid operation harder, while the possibility of jointly operating power, heating, transport and industry calls for efficient management of a complex system. AI forecasting, demand-response platforms, virtual power plants and vehicle-to-grid are shifting grids from one-way to two-way intelligent operation, and sector coupling such as power-to-gas and power-to-heat is being examined. Surging demand from AI data centres has made grid stability, competitive electricity tariffs, transmission capacity and siting into policy issues for national and local governments seeking to attract them.