# Internet of Things (IoT) and the Energy Sector
## 4 IoT in the Energy Sector
### IoT and Energy Generation  
Automating industrial processes and supervisory control and data acquisition systems became popular in the power sector in 1990s [37]. By monitoring and controlling equipment and processes, early stages of IoT started to contribute to the power sector by alleviating the risk of loss of production or blackout. Reliability, efficiency, environmental impacts, and maintenance issues are the main challenges of old power plants. The age of equipment in the power sector and poor maintenance problems can lead to high level of energy losses and unreliability. Assets are sometimes more than 40 years old, very expensive, and cannot be replaced easily. IoT can contribute to reducing some of these challenges in the management of power plants [37]. By applying IoT sensors, Internet-connected devices are able to distinguish any failure in the operation or abnormal decrease in energy efficiency, alarming the need for maintenance. This increases reliability and efficiency of the system, in addition to reducing the cost of maintenance [114]. According to [115], a new IoT-based power plant can save 230 million USD during the lifetime and an existing plant with the same size can save 50 million USD if equipped with the IoT platform.  
For reducing fossil fuel use and relying on local energy resources, many countries are promoting RESs. Weather-dependent or variable renewable energy (VRE) sources, such as wind and solar energy, pose new challenges to the energy system known as \"the intermittency challenge\". In an energy system with a high share of VRE, matching generation of energy with demand is a big challenge due to variability of supply and demand resulting in mismatch in different time scales. IoT systems offer the flexibility in balancing generation with demand, which in turn can reduce the challenges of deploying VRE, resulting in higher integration shares of clean energy and less GHG emissions [116]. In addition, by employing IoT, a more efficient use of energy can be achieved by using machine-learning algorithms that help determine an optimal balance of different supply and demand technologies [37]. For instance, the use of artificial intelligence algorithms can balance the power output of a thermal power plant with the sources of in-house power generation, e.g., aggregating many small-scale solar PV panels [117].  
Table 2 summarizes the applications of IoT in the energy sector, from energy supply regulation and markets.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{p{56.9 pt} p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt}} \hline \hline  & **Application** & **Sector** & **Description** & **Benefits** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{\begin{tabular}{} \end{tabular} } & \multirow{4}{*}{Energy democratization} & \multirow{4}{*}{Regulation} & Providing access to the grid for many small end users for peer to peer electricity trade and choosing the supplier freely. & Alleviating the hierarchy in the energy supply chain, market power, and centralized supply; liquifying the energy market and reducing the prices for consumers; and creating awareness on energy use and efficiency. \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & & & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & & & \\ \hline \hline \multirow{4}{*}{\begin{tabular}{} \end{tabular} } & \multirow{4}{*}{\begin{tabular}{} \end{tabular} } & \multirow{4}{*}{Energy market} & \multirow{4}{*}{\
\begin{tabular}{} \end{tabular} } & \multirow{4}{*}{
\begin{tabular}{} \end{tabular} } \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & & & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & & & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & & & \\ \cline{3-5}  & & & & & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 2: Applications of IoT in the energy sector (1): regulation, market, and energy supply side.