Smart grid market to grow to $9.6 billion by 2015

CAMBRIDGE, USA: Over the next five years, the smart grid market in the US will grow more than 70 percent, from $5.6 billion in 2010 to $9.6 billion by 2015, according to the findings of a new report from GTM Research, US Smart Grid Market Forecast: 2010–2015.

This near-term market expansion will be driven by federal ARRA grants for utility modernization, increased market competition and consolidation, and enhanced technology synergies, as large-capped IT players turn their investment dollars toward smart grid companies.

GTM Research’s report examines the industry’s growth by analyzing key trends in four core technology sectors -- Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Distribution Automation (DA), Home Area Networks (HAN) and Smart Utility Enterprise -- and compiling outlooks for each sector that fold into the report’s overall market forecast.

“Over the next 10 to 15 years, GTM Research expects the distinction between ‘smart grid’ and traditional distribution grids to dissolve,” said David J. Leeds, the report’s author and lead smart grid analyst at GTM Research. “The day is quickly approaching when the bulk of new hardware, software and systems added to grids will be intelligent.”

While smart grid development is scaling in the near term, the emerging industry faces a number of long-term obstacles. Large-scale integration has an estimated price tag of $165 billion and a deployment timeline of 20 years, both of which will require stable government incentives, clear policy at the state and national levels, and more effective utility demonstrations pertaining to how the new technology benefits customers.

“The promises and pitfalls of smart meters continue to monopolize the headlines, and the industry remains in the ‘honeymoon’ phase of technology transition,” said Leeds. “Utilities are only beginning to deploy next-gen devices and to re-conceptualize how their grids will operate at the distribution level.”