Asia Pacific Investment in Smart Transmission and Distribution Technologies
October 23, 2011
A new report from Pike Research shows that utilities and governments across the Asia Pacific region are seeking to lower the ratio of electricity consumption to economic output, reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions via demand management, and encourage energy efficiency by investing heavily in smart grid technologies.
Transitioning to a smart grid is seen as a key goal of national energy policy by governments in China, Japan, South Korea, India, and other APAC nations. While market attention has focused on advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), transmission upgrades and distribution automation (DA) systems actually represent the largest opportunities within APAC.
Cumulative revenue from transmission upgrades will total $93 billion between 2010 and 2017. Cumulative revenue from smart transmission and distribution (T&D) systems will reach $123.3 billion, representing 72% of all APAC smart grid investment over that period. AMI revenue in Asia Pacific will total $25.6 billion from 2010 to 2017.
Market potential for the smart grid in APAC is directly related to China’s huge investments in installing the essential components of power infrastructure over the next decade. China’s smart grid commitments are closely related to the country’s urgent power imbalance issues. China is attempting to solve these problems via the full completion of transmission capabilities.
In China, most investment priorities will target T&D upgrades, especially in ultra-high voltage and ultra-high voltage direct current construction. Japan will take a wider and systematic approach to creating world-leading green social systems by leveraging its existing leadership in IT and high-end technologies, while South Korea plans to form an advanced smart grid structure by leveraging its technology leadership in the IT and communications space.
