Asia to spend billions on smart transmission and distribution

Utilities and governments across the Asia Pacific region are investing heavily in smart grid technologies and the cumulative revenue from smart transmission and distribution (T&D) systems will reach USD123.3 billion by 2017.

According to Pike Research’s report, Smart Grid in Asia Pacific, the desire to lower the ratio of electricity consumption to economic output, reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions via demand management and encourage energy efficiency is pushing investment.

It points out that transitioning to a smart grid is seen as a key goal of national energy policy in China, Japan, South Korea and India. This creates large opportunities within APAC for advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), transmission upgrades and distribution automation (DA) systems.

AMI revenue in Asia Pacific will total USD25.6 billion from 2010 to 2017, the cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts. “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,” says senior analyst Andy Bae.

Smart grid strategies vary widely according to each country’s priorities with China targeting T&D upgrades, especially in ultra-high voltage and ultra-high voltage direct current construction.

Japan, on the other hand, will take a much 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.