The energy problem

Two stories on addressing our energy problem - using AI to maximise locally produced renewable energy and reducing the carbon footprint of ammonia production.

The latest release from the IPCC sixth assessment report on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability didn't hold back on dire warnings. The UN secretary general referred to it as a 'code red for humanity'.

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We know that we can't continue to produce energy by burning fossils fuels. We must reduce energy demand and use alternative energy sources.

We don't have all the answers yet, but researchers at Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington are working on some solutions for this energy problem.

Keeping the lights on - sustainable energy systems

A reliable electricity supply underpins our modern life. Most of us get the power we need from the national electricity grid, oblivious to the work that the power companies and Transpower do to balance the competing requirements of supply and demand - when power is produced versus when we want to use it.

But there is a growing interest in a range of renewable energy systems, with electricity produced locally by various solar, micro-hydro, wave and biomass systems, and stored locally for later use. Coming up with the best ways of using these micro power grids is what interests Professor Alan Brent.

Alan heads Victoria University of Wellington's Sustainable Energy Centre, and along with postdoctoral researcher Dr. Soheil Mohseni, Alan spends a lot of time thinking about the way electricity generation might look and work in the future.

Using AI to optimise energy systems

Soheil is developing an artificial intelligence system or AI that he hopes will help small communities work out the best energy system to meet their particular requirements. Soheil's work recognises that each small rural community running its own micro power grid is unique, so there is no one size fits all solution. To account for this Soheil uses optimisation algorithms, in which the computer program repeatedly analyses different scenarios until it identifies the best solution…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details