April 1, 2013
With dozens of pilot programs having been launched globally, the microgrid market is moving into full-scale commercialization. Driven by falling costs for solar photovoltaic systems and the easing of prohibitions against the operation of distributed generation assets during times of grid stress, the adoption of microgrids will accelerate as awareness of – and confidence in – the platform’s capabilities grows. According to a new report from Navigant Research, revenue from deployments of microgrids will be just under $10 billion in 2013, rising to more than $40 billion annually by 2020.
“At this point in time, microgrids can provide a quality and diversity of services that incumbent utilities have been unable to match,” says Peter Asmus, principal research analyst for Navigant Research. “While utilities have shown institutional biases against the entire concept of microgrids for decades, extreme weather events and the growing recognition of microgrids as potential sources of demand response resources are building engineering and cultural support for these systems in a variety of settings.”
The less reliable the incumbent power grid performs, the greater the interest in applying smart grid platforms such as microgrids to help solve the problem. Regions of the world like the United States, where grid reliability is diminishing rather than increasing, are currently hotspots for microgrid development, according to the report. The high cost of diesel fuel for electricity generation in remote regions of the world is also a major factor in adoption of microgrid technology.
The report, “Market Data: Microgrids”, provides newly updated capacity and annual vendor revenue forecasts for the five primary microgrid market segments: commercial/industrial, community/utility, campus/institutional, military, and remote (off-grid) microgrids. The report also offers capacity and revenue forecasts for utility distribution microgrids – a segment that overlaps with community/utility and remote segments – as well as microgrid enabling technologies, the latter being the group of key components deployed within microgrids. The economic and public policy assumptions behind the forecasts are explained in detail, along with data trends and regional market drivers. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the Navigant Research website.
Contact: Richard Martin
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* The information contained in this press release concerning the report, “Market Data: Microgrids,” is a summary and reflects Navigant Research’s current expectations based on market data and trend analysis. Market predictions and expectations are inherently uncertain and actual results may differ materially from those contained in this press release or the report. Please refer to the full report for a complete understanding of the assumptions underlying the report’s conclusions and the methodologies used to create the report. Neither Navigant Research nor Navigant undertakes any obligation to update any of the information contained in this press release or the report.