Every year IDC Energy Insights predicts the trend for the upcoming year. IDC Energy Insights is one of the top global research firm providing predictive analytical information to the energy industry. At this year webinar the focus was on North American utility and energy industry, where, according toHorizonWatching, the following top 10 trends were identified. “The industry is entering in post stimulus period. While funding has dried up, there are areas where investment spending is growing, such as solar PV installation, smart grid, smart buildings, electric vehicles, and energy storage”, says IDC Energy Insights.
The Top 10 List
1) Smart Meter: The growth will peak in 2012, which will usher demand response growth
2) Distribution Automation: It will grow at 13% CAGR in 2012
3) Smart Buildings: The investment in this area will gain more traction
4) Electric Vehicles: Around 120,000 EVs will be sold in North America in 2012
5) Lithium Batteries: The Li-ion batteries price will drop to $600 per KWH by the end of 2012
6) Solar PV Installations: It will grow more than 25% despite the expiring of 1063 treasury grant
7) Commercial PV: Micro-inverters or DC optimizers will be incorporated in > 60 MW plants
8) Security & Risk: It will be the key concern for decision makers,prompting them to invest more
9) Big Data Analytics: Utilities will increase their investment to derive business value out of this
10) IT Spending: The IT spending bu utilities will grow by 4.5% over the next four years
Jesse Burst, the founder of SmartGridNews and one of the foremost expert in Smart Grid, identified 9 trends out of the same IDC Energy Insights webinar. Except following few most of them are similar to the top 10 official prediction listed above.
1) Utilities mergers and acquisition will accelerate
2) Demand will flatten or even fall
3) Municipal and Co-ops will drive new AMI deployments
4) 2012 will be make or break for Electric Vehicle
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