29 December 2009 – According to a new report by Pike Research, spending on smart grid technologies is expected to reach $200bn between 2008 and 2015 as governments and industry leaders drive an overhaul of grid infrastructure across the globe.

In the report, the key market motivators driving the smart grid build-out fall into four categories: improving reliability and security, improving operating efficiencies and costs, balancing power generation supply and demand, and reducing the overall electrical system’s impact on climate change.

Barriers to this transformation go beyond pure technical and economic issues, including a lack of common vision and standards, outdated and fragmented business and regulatory models, and lack of awareness (and often trust) of the consuming. However, government and industry bodies are coming together with urgency to drive the industry forward, says the report.

According to Clint Wheelock, Pike’s managing director: “Smart meters are currently the highest-profile component of the smart grid, but they are really just the tip of the iceberg.

“Our analysis shows that utilities will find the best return on investment, and therefore will devote the majority of their capital budgets, to grid infrastructure projects including transmission upgrades, substation automation, and distribution automation.”

Pike Research forecasts that these grid automation initiatives will capture 84 per cent of global smart grid investment through 2015, compared to just 14 per cent for advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and two per cent for electric vehicle management systems.

The cleantech market intelligence firm also anticipates that smart grid revenues will peak in 2013 after several years of a strong push by key governments, and will thereafter be a smaller, albeit still very substantial, market.

The ‘Smart Grid Technologies’ report, analyzes the global market opportunity for smart grid technologies and applications, and examines utility business models, regulatory factors, technology issues, and the dynamics of end-user demand.

An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download from the following website: www.pikeresearch.com/research/smart-grid-technologies