Greentech Lead America: Renewable distributed energy
generation (RDEG) technologies market will grow from less than $69 billion in
market value in 2012 to nearly $86 billion in 2017, according to a recent
report from Pike Research.
Renewable distributed energy generation (RDEG)
technologies, which contrast sharply with the traditional centralized utility
model of large-scale power generation, represent a growing opportunity for the
electric power industry.
In a growing number of cases around the world, however,
RDEG technologies are more cost-effective than centralized installations that
require transmission to population centers. Europe will continue to be the
largest market for RDEG during the 2012-2017 forecast period, with most
countries expected to hit their renewable energy targets.
However, Asia Pacific, led by China, will grow the
fastest as untapped domestic markets for RDEG installations emerge, the report
said.
The new RDEG model and traditional, centralized systems
are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and the former is still in its early
stages. RDEG installations today represent less than 1 percent of total electricity
generating capacity installed worldwide, according to the report titled
, “Renewable Distributed Energy Generation.”
“The global electric power industry is evolving
from a financial and engineering model that relies on large centralized power plants
owned by the utilities to one that is more diverse – both in sources of
generation and ownership of the generation assets,” says research analyst
Dexter Gauntlett.
“This transition to a more distributed system of power
generation will require the evolution of both technologies and business
practices. Like any emerging industry, new policies and standards must be
developed and practiced before the market can mature.”