Global smart grid market to reach $118.1B in 2019

According to a report published by Transparency Market Research (TMR), the global smart grid market is valued $37.7 billion in 2012 and will reach $118.1 billion in 2019.

The growth will be at a compound annual rate of 18.2 percent from 2013 to 2019.

The global smart grid market will be driven by unbalanced power demand followed by increasing transmission and distribution losses. Need for quality power supply and the increased efficiency obtained by grid optimization will enhance the demand.

In 2012, majority of the global market share was controlled by transmission upgrades followed by the distribution automation and advanced metering infrastructure technology.

Transmission upgrades can be achieved through efficient and secure interstate transmission and distribution network integrating renewable sources of energy, predicts the report.

Report suggests that by upgrading electrical transmission and distribution infrastructure, utilities can be integrated with renewable energy and other smart grid technologies.

The report warns that absence of interoperability and open standards will slow down market growth, but the prepaid electricity option along with advanced metering infrastructure deployment will offset the growth.

OG&E’s Positive Energy Smart Grid Project, USA, is a high ranking project according to the report, working with a goal of achieving better energy future. OG&E manages all fields including enhanced customer experience, reduced demand, reduced cost and increased security with the help of smart grid technology.

The report focuses on five goals based on delivering returns against some of the biggest challenges faced by smart grids namely, innovation, economic, innovation, customer and reliability.

Innovation is based on smart grid analytics including collecting data, integrating systems and data analysis for visibility across the grid. Financial and energy savings are fields with greatest increased customer impact. Some projects have delivered savings per customer ranging from $306 to $504 per year. The most successful smart grid projects are the projects that deliver the greatest customer impact.

If we look at reliability aspect, more than 70% of smart grids have achieved improvements in network reliability. These improvements are seen mainly in transmission losses, voltage quality and system interruptions.

Renewable energy integration and emissions reductions are the significant environmental benefits of smart grid projects, even transcending the regions, adds the report.

The economic segment surveyed for 30 projects have concluded that the total average spent on smart grid projects was $390 per customer. For projects without smart metering, the investment per customer was less than $200. For projects that included smart metering installations, the costs were $400 per customer.

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