Category: Power & Energy

The number of smart electricity meters installed worldwide was roughly 49 mln in 2007, and is forecast to reach about 76 mln in 2009, according to ABI Research.

Despite a sluggish forecast for the overall high-tech industry in 2009, nanomaterials for solar cells grew 47% in 2008 and is projected to grow another 44% in 2009, according to The Information Network.

Despite a sluggish forecast for the overall high-tech industry in the near term, alternative energies technologies are expected to grow at a 40% annual rate through 2012, and semiconductors used in these applications will see a comparable growth, according to The Information Network. The semiconductor market in 2008 was nearly $800 mln and will more than double to nearly $2 bln in 2012.

Majority of Americans are willing to sacrifice perceived reliability, luxury, performance and comfort for better gas mileage as they plan their next vehicle purchase. Perceptions exist that gas-only cars are less expensive, more luxurious, and offer better design and comfort, Ruder Finn reports. Only 6% of respondents think hybrids are luxurious and just 12% feel they are better priced. 67% of respondents said they were likely to purchase a hybrid vehicle within the next 3 years. More than 80% of respondents said they would like to sell their gas guzzlers for more fuel-efficient cars today, but 87% stated they cannot afford to do so.

According to Lux Research, solar market will reach $100 bln by 2013.

According to Berg Insight, the installed base of smart electricity meters in Europe will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15.6% between 2008 and 2013 to reach 81.2 mln at the end of the period. After massive rollouts in Italy and the Nordic countries, the turn has now come to France, Spain and the Netherlands to receive smart electricity meters. Berg Insight expects that new installations will reach a rate of 11 mln units annually in these countries by 2013.

By 2011, more than 70% of US enterprise data centers will face tangible disruptions related to energy consumption, floor space, and/or costs, according to Gartner.

According to Berg Insight, the number of smart electricity meters will exceed 60 mln in Europe by 2012. This will mean that one in four consumers will receive electricity bills based on their actual consumption and gain immediate financial benefits from energy savings.

Smart metering industry will experience an estimated 41% increase in Europe and 89% in North America in the next five years. 6% of households in Europe and North America have smart metering currently, ReportBuyer says.

Power wheelchair markets in dollars at $756.5 mln in 2006 are expected to reach a little over $1 bln by 2013, Research and Markets says.

The total market for commercial solar cell production equipment will grow from revenues of $1.2 bln in 2006 to $4.5 bln in 2010, The Information Network says.

Micro fuel cells, estimated to be about a $12 mln market in 2006, will reach $112 mln by 2011, for an annual average growth rate of 55.7%, predicts Innovative Research and Products.

Global clean-energy markets are poised to quadruple in the next decade, growing from $55.4 bln in revenues in 2006 to more than $226.5 bln by 2016 for four benchmark technologies, according to Clean Edge. For the second year in a row, the global biofuels market was slightly larger than both solar and wind, reaching $20.5 bln in 2006 and projected to grow to more than $80 bln by 2016. Clean Edge projects solar photovoltaics (modules, system components, and installations) will grow from a $15.6 bln market in 2006 to $69.3 bln by 2016; wind power installations will expand from $17.9 bln in 2006 to $60.8 bln in 2016; and the markets for fuel cells and distributed hydrogen will grow from $1.4 bln in 2006 to $15.6 bln over the next decade.

Registrations of new hybrid vehicles in the United States increased 28% in 2006, but that was the second-smallest increase since 2000, and represented just 1.5% of new vehicle registrations, R.L. Polk & Co. reports.

ABI Research found that the total energy consumption arising from mobile broadband service delivery is forecast to grow from 42.8 bln kilowatt hours (KWh) in 2005 to 124.4 bln KWh in 2011. The Asia Pacific region will account for the majority of this growth.

Gartner says 50% of data centers will have insufficient power and cooling capacity by 2008. Traditionally the power required for non-IT equipment in the data center (for example, cooling, fans and pumps) represented about 60% of total annual energy consumption. As power requirements continue to grow, energy costs will emerge as the second highest operating cost in 70% of worldwide data center facilities by 2009. However, a flurry of innovation is under way that will converge during the next three years to substantially mitigate the power/cooling issue.

The market now offers the benefits of a number of different hybrid applications, some of which are still designed for reduced fuel consumption and emissions, while others offer enhanced performance or exclusive features such as AC power outlets. This adaptation to a wider market should see consumer hybrids’ market share in the United States rise from just 1.25% in 2005 to at least 6% in 2013, ABI Research says.

Investments in intelligent metering solutions in the European energy sector will total 3.5 bln euros until 2010, according to Berg Insight. About 35% of the 3.4 mln smart meters currently under contract in Sweden will be connected to mobile networks.

51% of US consumers are interested in acquiring backup generation for their primary residence in the next two years, and almost the same fraction (47%) express interest in baseload generation (i.e., on-site generation equipment to provide all of the power for the home on a regular basis), Energy Insights reports. US households purchased a record 1.7 mln backup generators from April 2005 through March 2006 for their primary residences. When asked to identify the top three reasons for interest in acquiring baseload generation equipment, survey respondents cite “worries about outages or blackouts” (72%) as number one. “Saving money on energy bills” (67%) and “independence from electric utility” (40%) rank second and third respectively. Despite consumers’ outage anxiety, findings reveal only 7% of US households currently have an on-site generator, most of which are portable models that are exclusively used during power outages and need to be manually started.

Within Brazil’s utilities sector, many companies plan to increase their budgets for technology acquisition in 2006. These spending expectations are 14% higher than in 2005. The sector accounted for 3.8% of the total information technology spending in the country in 2005, IDC found.

According to BIGresearch, before winter consumers said they would keep a wary eye on their home heating bills this past holiday season, and when asked what they would do if their home heating bill increased by 50%, almost 2/3 say “turn down the thermostat” and 62% say “wear heavier clothing.”

Shipments of Power Over Ethernet switch ports will grow strongly, to 105.9 mln in 2009, driven by sales of Internet Protocol phones and wireless LAN access points. End-user spending will reach $4.4 bln, Gartner says.

The CSI/40mpg.org survey found that 58% of Americans – including 57% of independents and 42% of conservatives – are more concerned about global warming today than they were two years ago. Also, more than three out of four Americans (76%) – including two out of three conservatives – think the federal government is not doing “enough to address global warming and develop alternative energy sources in order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.” 83% of Americans – including 77% of conservatives – said that “in the absence of federal leadership” today, they support the fast-growing number of pushes by “state and local officials to curb global warming and promote new energy resources.” 77% of Americans think that “developing alternative or renewable energy sources and reducing US dependence on foreign oil should be President Bush’s top priority for the balance of his term in office”; and 83% of Americans – including 72% of conservatives and 85% of independents – would like to see more attention paid to global warming during the 2006 Congressional elections and the 2008 Presidential elections.