Demand response systems emerge as a major market in Europe

Energy-system

Europe, though relatively new to demand response (DR) systems, is expected to emerge as a major market in the coming years, says a recent report from Navigant Research.

The report estimates that spending on DR by European utilities will surpass $776 million by 2020.

The market is getting support in the form of new regulations that take effect across the EU and within individual countries. Europe’s historical resistance of demand-side resources is crumbling as regulatory barriers are gradually being removed and new incentives arise.

Specifically, EU’s 20-20-20 energy mandate, coupled with national regulatory requirements around carbon emissions, energy efficiency, and the adoption of intermittent renewables, such as wind and solar power, is having a considerable impact on the demand response market in Europe.

Energy-system

The transformative effects of this shift are already noticeable in several countries and regions that have initiated DR pilots or deployed programs. Italy has a large interruptible load program that gives it the largest load curtailment, in terms of capacity, in 2013, followed by France and the United Kingdom.

Still, both France and the United Kingdom are expected to assume stronger market positions, according to the report, with France taking the lead by 2017.

Also read:  Demand Response Programs to Triple over 7 years to 140.5 GW in 2020

[email protected]