Editorial of Special issue on Artificial Intelligence Techniques for the Smart Grid

N. Bassiliades, G. Chalkiadakis, Editorial of Special issue on Artificial Intelligence Techniques for the Smart Grid, Advances in Building Energy Research, 12 (1), Taylor & Francis, 2018.

In recent years, there is a rush in Artificial Intelligence (AI) research to produce practical solutions for the Smart Grid, the anticipated new generation of energy (primarily electricity) networks that will be able to make efficient use of renewable energy sources, support real time and efficient demand response, as well as the large-scale deployment of electric vehicles (EVs). AI techniques and methodologies can be instrumental in addressing sustainability problems, for example, to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the way we manage and allocate our natural and societal resources. The drive to use AI for the Smart Grid has in turn led to novel questions and challenges for AI research, and to the realization that only the cross-fertilization of ideas and mixing of various techniques originating in different (sub-)fields can lead to the Holy Grail of an electricity Grid that takes full advantage of AI technologies to deliver power that is at the same time ‘green’, stable, affordable and accessible to all. This Special Issue brings together research questions and approaches originating in different (sub-)fields, such as multiagent systems, machine learning, optimization and statistics. As such, it provides an overview of a broad spectrum of ongoing Smart Grid research.