Regulatory support for renewable energy in key markets will see global power investment reach $443.5 billion in 2017, said Frost & Sullivan.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) will be accounting for 37.5 percent of global investment by 2020. On the other hand, wind power will be accounting for 21 percent of global investment by 2020.
Solar PV investment will increase 11.5 percent to $141.6 billion in 2017. International agreements, such as COP21, and declining renewable technology costs, will ensure more capacity per dollar invested in solar PV projects.
“As new geographies emerge, local legislation and pro-renewable incentives will impact the fuel mix, compelling industry participants to identify challenges and define localisation strategies for long-term growth,” said Energy & Environment Research Analyst Jonathan Robinson.
Power industry trends
# Demand from utilities for energy management solutions, on both the supply and demand sides
# High growth rates for solar PV, with investment forecast to increase by 11.5 percent to $141.6 billion in 2017
# International agreements, such as COP21, and declining renewable technology costs, will ensure more capacity per dollar invested
# China will be the largest market in terms of revenue investment, but the fastest growth will come from India, which will see double-digit growth in investment to 2020
# 73.4 percent of power generation investment in Europe will be for renewable technologies, while Russia and CIS buck the trend and focus on nuclear power and hydro
# Strong investment in hydropower, despite it being a mature technology; China, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America will be key regional markets.
Digitisation has the potential to drive efficiency gains and unlock new revenue streams for market participants in business areas such as demand response, utility as an energy service company or ESCO, predictive and real-time analytics, vehicle to grid, and virtual power plants and microgrids.