SEA, ANZ smart grid markets to hit US$3B by 2018

The smart grid markets in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand are expected to generate revenues of US$3 billion by 2018, up from US$1.4 billion in 2011, and growth will be driven by those with well-developed industrial infrastructure.

A Frost & Sullivan study released on Thursday added countries with an advanced software market and a high acceptance for technology will help spur smart grid growth. It named Singapore and Australia as two ideal destinations for smart grid rollout, adding that the former has one of the most reliable electricity networks worldwide.

The importance of smart grids is increasing in the three markets as environmental agencies pressure governments to conserve resources, it said.

This is because smart grids can help reduce and ease the load on conventional electricity grids and auxiliary power plants, for example, allowing an electric utility to draw power from several solar installations. Smart grids also enable countries to comply with emission norms, Krishnan Ramanathan, research analyst at Frost & Sullivan, said in the report.

Densely-populated countries such as Singapore and Indonesia are making significant investments in smart grid technologies, thereby creating a huge market for telecom operators, equipment manufacturers and other service providers, it added.

Ramanathan also noted there has been a growing realization that several industries must grow in tandem to make the most of a smart grid system. This has promoted greater investments in software and IT services for smart grid with help from real-time data analysis, he said.

However, smart grid technology does face some opposition, the report stated. One of the concerns center on how automated grid systems might be subject to attacks that could cause it collapse, which would compel companies to spend more on security systems, it said.