Global smart solar market to grow at a CAGR of 15.22% during 2016-2022: Sandler Research

Sandler Research in its latest report “Global smart solar market 2016-2022” forecasts global smart solar market to grow at a CAGR of 15.22% during the period 2016-2020. One of the key trends for market growth will be increasing demand for solutions and services due to advances in technology and components, such as smart meters, solar simulators, and grid intelligent components, services and applications of the smart solar.

Sandler Research notes that solution services, such as accuracy of bill and record of consumption of energy, are in demand, which is fueling the smart solar market.

According to the report ABB, Echelon, GE Power & Water, Schneider Electric, and Siemens are the key players in the global smart solar market. Other Prominent Vendors in the market are: Itron, Landis+GYR, Sensus USA, Silver Spring Networks, Solarcity, Sunnova, Urban Green Energy (UGE) International, and Vivint Solar.

Commenting on the report, an analyst said: “One of the key trends for market growth will be increasing demand for solutions and services. The recent trend in the smart solar industry depicts the growth in demand for solutions and services due to advances in technology in components, such as smart meters, solar simulators, and grid intelligent components, services and applications of the smart solar. Thus most of the vendors are focusing on providing complete solutions for smart solar i.e. from components to the services. Also, the rise in demand for energy necessitates the need of energy management solutions and demands response services to be integrated with the installations. Now solution services, such as accuracy of bill and record of consumption of energy, are in demand, which is fueling the smart solar market. Another major factor will be intermittent nature of solar energy, which requires such services to manage the solar energy better. Hence, the smart solar is an integrated solution.”

Sandler Research’s report states that, growing environmental concerns will be a key driver for market growth. The primary sources of CO2 emission in the US are power, transportation, and industrial sectors. If the world adopts the smart energy technologies (including smart solar) then CO2 emissions could be reduced by 15% globally. There are numerous ways of using smart solar technologies, such as smart grids and meters, that will have a big impact on cutting carbon.

Further, the report states that high risk of cyber-attacks will be a challenge for the market. Advances in IT and implementation of technology to control power generation and distribution have increased chances of cyber-attacks. Smart solar grid infrastructure uses internet technologies; hence, data are extremely vulnerable to security threats in the absence of a robust cyber security setup. Smart solar grids are also vulnerable to virus attacks. Mishandling by engineers or operators can cause severe damage to these grids. Traditionally, power utilities have not been exposed to such security issues; hence they lack the experience or expertise to deal with such circumstances.