Artificial intelligence in the energy transition for solar photovoltaic small and medium-sized enterprises

Abstract

The dynamic and rapidly developing European landscape of solar photovoltaic (PV) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) calls for the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions harnessing the power of data. Currently, many SMEs face challenges in putting this approach into practice due to the lack of resources (financial, human, strategic). To aid SMEs in this endeavour, AI maturity assessments have been developed to evaluate the current state of an SME's AI transformation on multiple dimensions along the established maturity stages. However, recommendations on how to advance between the successive maturity stages are fragmented in contemporary literature. In this exploratory study, we conduct thirteen semi-structured interviews and three AI maturity assessments with solar PV plant-operating SMEs in the Netherlands, concluding that the Dutch solar PV industry can be classified as being in the first maturity stage. To transition towards the second stage, our framework emphasizes the need to develop realistic AI strategies, data requirement specifications and human-AI symbiosis. The outcomes of our study may be used by PV energy SMEs as a guide to understand and implement the complex AI maturity stage transitions, as well as by future researchers to build on the proposed framework.