Quantum Computing Opportunities in Renewable Energy

Abstract

Quantum computing is a new field of computing that relies on the laws of quantum mechanics to perform types of information processing that are not possible on traditional ("classical") computers. As a result, quantum computers are capable of using problem-solving approaches which are not available to classical computers. Thus far, most research in quantum computing has taken place in physics and theoretical computer science, leaving a disconnect between these researchers and practical problems/applications. There is a need to identify good near-term problems to demonstrate quantum computing's problem-solving potential. One possible area of contribution is in renewable energy. Adoption and scale-up of renewable resources in the next several decades will introduce many new challenges to the electrical grid due to the need to control many more distributed resources and to account for the variability of weather-dependent generation flows. We identify a few places where quantum computing is most likely to contribute to renewable energy problems: in simulation, in scheduling and dispatch, and in reliability analyses. The problems have the common theme that there are potential future issues concerning scalability of current approaches that quantum computing may address. We then recommend potentially fruitful areas of crossover research to advance applications of quantum computing and renewable energy. Keywords Quantum computing • Renewable energyThis article is part of the topical collection "Quantum Computing: Circuits Systems Automation and Applications" guest-edited by Himanshu Thapliyal and Travis S. Humble.

Implementation of Quantum Annealing: A Systematic Review

“…The findings are presented in the following Table IX. Portfolio 3 [166,194,219] Big data 3 [43,103,105] Hydrology 2 [39,237] Database 2 [55,198] Sensor 2 [178,212] The table shows that eight research including [37], [93], [179], [208], [210], [222], and [228] are categorized under two problem domains. Meanwhile, machine learning was found to be the most investigated topic using the QA approach as indicated by 26.40% and this was followed by graphics with 24.72%, mathematics with 17.98%, routing with 6.74%, scheduling 6.74%, chemistry computation 5.06%, biology computation 3.37%, security 2.25%, portfolio 1.69%, big data 1.69%, hydrology 1.12%, database 1.12%, and sensors with 1.12%.…”

Data-Driven Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm for Cyber-Physical Power Systems

“…are the time evolution operators, evolving the system under the Hamiltonian H B for the time period of β j = (1 − s(j∆t))∆t and the Hamiltonian H C for the time period of γ j = s(j∆t)∆t, respectively, as defined in (10).…”

“…Quantum technology is emerging as a new hope to address challenging computational tasks in power systems, including quantum chemistry simulation for new type batteries [1][2][3], efficient power system analysis by solving linear systems of equations [4][5][6][7][8], forecasting highly chaotic systems [9], scheduling and dispatching power grids [10], unit commitment [11], optimal reconfiguration of distribution grids [12], etc. However, the existing algorithms require substantial quantum resources, limiting their near-term utilization on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices [13].…”

Quantum technologies for climate change: Preliminary assessment

“…• Power and energy: real-time allocation and routing with immediate potential power and energy savings, e.g., static or dynamic grid optimization problems [54,55] (including load balancing or unit commitment), batteries [47], renewable energy [7,56], and real-time wireless network [53,57].…”

“…Emerging quantum technologies are anticipated to provide new approaches to challenging scientific and engineering problems [1,2]. An important question is to what extent these technologies can provide advantages related to anthropogenic climate change in areas such as mitigation, adaptation and prediction [3][4][5][6][7]. Moreover, understanding the time scale in which quantum advantages could be realized is particularly important for pressing climate related challenges, and assessing the potential real-world impact.…”