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Large power utilities have been investing in the EV charging station infrastructure. This market is also experiencing consolidation, and this trend is expected to continue.
FREMONT, CA: The power sector is undergoing massive changes. Various trends, such as electric vehicles, corporate power exchange, and more are expected to shape the industry in 2020.
Let us look at some key trends in the power industry that can be seen in 2020:
Electric Vehicles
The last few years have seen an increase in the adoption of electric vehicles. This is expected to continue in 2020 as well.
Governments across the globe are setting EV deployment targets, which would encourage industry stakeholders to invest in the EV supply chain. Large power utilities have been investing in the EV charging station infrastructure. This market is also experiencing consolidation, and this trend is expected to continue.
Besides, power utilities are partnering with EV manufacturers to fuel their offering in areas such as vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services, energy storage, EV charging, and renewable energy sources. Oil companies such as BP, Shell, and Total are also hugely contributing to the market through acquisitions.
Microgrids
The microgrid demand in the power sector is steadily growing, driven by the need for energy security, resiliency, and remote area electrification. In the US, Hawaii is the first state to initiate microgrid tariffs, which are fees to be paid for microgrid services. California is also following the same path and planning to introduce legislation.
Digitalization
Power utilities are now realizing the benefits of new technology and heavily investing in them. Surveys show that cybersecurity, robotic, big data, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT) would have an intense impact on the power sector in the near future. Power companies are showing more interest in cybersecurity in order to protect grids from cyberattacks. Since an increasing amount of data is coming out of the customers’ meters, utilities are focusing on data analytics for generation planning, load forecasting, and managing peaks.
See Also: Top Electric Vehicles Solution Companies
