AI and Energy Justice

Merel Noorman (), Brenda Espinosa Apráez and Saskia Lavrijssen
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Merel Noorman: Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society (TILT), Tilburg Law School, Tilburg University, 5037 DB Tilburg, The Netherlands
Brenda Espinosa Apráez: Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society (TILT), Tilburg Law School, Tilburg University, 5037 DB Tilburg, The Netherlands
Saskia Lavrijssen: Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society (TILT), Tilburg Law School, Tilburg University, 5037 DB Tilburg, The Netherlands

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques are increasingly used to address problems in electricity systems that result from the growing supply of energy from dynamic renewable sources. Researchers have started experimenting with data-driven AI technologies to, amongst other uses, forecast energy usage, optimize cost-efficiency, monitor system health, and manage network congestion. These technologies are said to, on the one hand, empower consumers, increase transparency in pricing, and help maintain the affordability of electricity in the energy transition, while, on the other hand, they may decrease transparency, infringe on privacy, or lead to discrimination, to name a few concerns. One key concern is how AI will affect energy justice. Energy justice is a concept that has emerged predominantly in social science research to highlight that energy related decisions—in particular, as part of the energy transition—should produce just outcomes. The concept has been around for more than a decade, but research that investigates energy (in)justice in the context of digitalized and data-driven electricity systems is still rather scarce. In particular, there is a lack of scholarship focusing on the challenges and questions that arise from the use of AI technologies in the management of electricity systems. The central question of this paper is, therefore: what may be the implications of the use of AI in smart electricity systems from the perspective of energy justice, and what does this mean for the design and regulation of these technologies?

Keywords: artificial intelligence; machine learning; energy justice; energy law; PV curtailment; smart grids (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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