Dive Brief:

• Advanced Energy Economy and Microsoft Corp. this month announced they would partner on a unique tool capable of predicting the possibility of legislation ultimately being signed into law.
• The project uses AEE's database of federal and state legislation, PowerSuite, and Microsoft's Azure, a cloud-computing and machine learning platform.
• On the same day, Microsoft also revealed a pilot project with Norwegian renewables company Agder Energi to create an intelligent, efficient "grid of the future."

Dive Insight:

Microsoft and AEE's predictive legislative tool will use hundreds of data points to assess legislation at the state and federal level, giving a percentage likelihood a measure will pass. The idea, they say, is to allow users to "adjust their strategies" as they press for clean energy legislation.

"This is breakthrough technology for legislative advocacy that moves us to a future of secure, clean, affordable energy,” AEE CEO Graham Richard said in a statement. The partnership with Microsoft, he added, means "we are now more empowered to monitor and engage on advanced energy issues and policy. This strengthens our ability to impact policy.”

When a bill is introduced, PowerSuite provides a real-time forecast of giving an estimated likelihood of it passing, helping advocates focus their efforts on bills with the greatest chances of success, AEE said.

Microsoft's pilot with Agder Energi similarly will look to intelligent systems to optimize energy. The Azure platform will work with tools from Powel AS to improve dispatch of new energy resources, including device controls and predictive forecasting.

The pilot will be operated at an Agder Energi substation that is currently operating beyond its intended capacity at some times. 

"Eventually, the partners expect to build on these results to perform automatic balancing of renewable energy and peak load control in near real time," Microsoft said in a statement about the pilot.

AEE and Microsoft are not the only entities to provide predictive legislative programs. Washington-based government relations firm FiscalNote also offers bill-tracking services and likelihood of passage for state and federal legislation.