Report sees global ‘smart grid’ spending boom

Global spending on “smart grid” technologies will reach a cumulative total of $200 billion worldwide by 2015, according to a report Monday by the Colorado-based energy consulting firm Pike Research.

The “smart grid” refers to a suite of technologies aimed at making the power grid more efficient, reliable, and integrating emerging energy sources such as wind and solar power into the system.

“Pike Research forecasts that Smart Grid infrastructure, broken out into advanced metering, distribution automation, substation automation, transmission upgrades, and electric vehicle systems, represents a large market opportunity, with worldwide revenues growing from approximately $10 billion in 2009 to a peak of $35 billion in 2013,” the report states.

“While much of the market attention has been on metering infrastructure, transmission upgrades and distribution automation system actually represent the largest opportunities worldwide,” it adds.

The smart grid has emerged as an energy policy priority for Congress and the Obama administration.

The recent stimulus law steers billions in funding into the Energy Department office that oversees the agency’s grid technology programs, and DoE has begun doling out the funds. Last month the agency awarded $620 million for smart grid demonstration and energy storage projects nationwide.