Smart energy grids—the term used to describe the upgrade of 20th century power grids to become intelligent and networked, reducing costs and increasing efficiency and reliability—have long been discussed, and early versions of smart meters in the form of Advanced Meter Reading (AMR) devices have been in use for several years with limited success. These early versions, which tended to be experimental or focused on only large commercial customers, had low levels of functionality and were proprietary in nature, making them less conducive to industry-wide economies of scale.
Today, however, we find ourselves on the verge of a perfect combination of technical innovation, increased demand, resource scarcity and government intervention that promises to take smart grids from vision to reality. For example, in the U.S. under the Obama administration, billions of stimulus dollars are flowing into smart grid efforts, and the initial tranches of investment have been recently deployed with the aim of viability testing. Morgan Stanley estimates that smart grid market spending could reach up to $100 billion in 2030, up from the $20 billion spent on it today (its numbers include AMR devices, demand response and advanced transmission but omit operational cost line items such as network outsourcing). Yankee Group’s own internal estimates find the number of smart meters deployed in the U.S. will increase from 13.6 million in 2010 to 52 million in 2013.
via Smart Grids: Not a Smart Business for Telcos—Yet – market research report on Reportlinker.
Related posts:
- Ambient urges collaboration in smart grids
- Smart grids can give people power to cut electric bills – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
- Not All Smart Grids are Green Grids — EDF Innovation Exchange Blog
- Smart Grid Appliance Market May Reach $15B by 2015 · Environmental Leader · Green Business, Sustainable Business, and Green Strategy News for Corporate Sustainability Executives
- Research and Markets: Smart Grids and Smart Meters – Consumer Issues | Business Wire
