Utility investments in smart grid technology continue to grow at healty rates and are expected to reach $122.97 billion in 2027, according to Emergen Research. The move to renewable energy, growth of smart cities, and complexity in integrating all of the smart grid elements is driving growth.
Energy companies are in the middle of the grid’s most dramatic transition since its inception. To reduce carbon dioxide emissions, utilities are moving away from traditional fossil fuels, which have a centralized design to renewable energy sources, which take a distributed approach. They need new intelligent management tools to make the transition. As evidence, Distribution Management held the largest share smart grid spending, 41.0%.
The Deployment and Integration smart grid segment is growing the fastest at a CAGR of 20.6% over the forecast period. Smart grid components are becoming more intelligent, more capable, and more complex, requiring input from industry specialists.
The emergence of smart cities is another driver. Governments are trying to make systems smarter, so they serve citizens more effectively, and smart grids provide such capabilities.
Lower operating cost for advanced metering technologies is also contributing factor to the increasing smart grid demand. The technology has been maturing, and suppliers’ manufacturing and distribution systems have become more effective.
Smart grid technology offers utilities the ability to deliver energy more efficiently. The push to renewable energy, rising interest in smart cities, and lower pricing sparked interest in these solutions