2019: Diversify or disappear for energy, utilities and resources?
In 2019 energy and utility companies face the challenges of an industry rapidly diversifying, decentralising and digitising.
PREDICTION #1:
BY 2040, 66% OF THE GLOBAL ENERGY MARKET WILL BE IN RENEWABLES, DRIVING AN URGENT RACE TO DIVERSIFY IN 2019
GLOBAL GREEN HOTSPOTS
India and China: By 2040, solar will be the largest source of low-carbon energy capacity in the world. A major factor will be the rapid deployment of solar photovoltaics (PVs) in China and India.
China: 33% of the world’s current wind and solar PV power is currently in China. The country accounts for more than 40% of global investment in electric vehicles. IEA: “The scale of China’s clean energy deployment, technology exports and outward investment makes it a key determinant of momentum behind the low-carbon transition.”
Brazil: The share of direct and indirect renewable use in final energy consumption will rise from 39% today to 45% in 2040 in Brazil, (compared with the global rate of 9% to 16%).
European Union: By 2040, renewables will make up 80% of new power capacity in the EU. Wind power will become the leading source of electricity soon after 2030, with strong growth in both onshore and offshore.
By 2040 the equivalent of a whole new China and India will have been added to the planet’s global energy demand, a 30% increase on today. The IEA (International Energy Agency) reports that by 2040 renewables will meet 40% of the planet’s energy demands. This will also be driven, the report says, by ‘enormous efficiency improvements on the supply side’.
Diversification, beginning now, is key to seizing the opportunity. And as the table shows (right), this is not just a European trend. Worldwide, the direct use of renewables to provide heat and mobility will double by 2040.
So in 2019, traditional major energy providers and even heavy industries will all be racing to adapt to the rise of renewables.
The last mile hots up
And as they compete to capture the green euros of more proactive, eco-conscious consumers, energy and utilities companies will focus more and more on smart grid management and customer service.
Take National Grid Smart, in the UK. Its solutions support the UK-based National Grid’s new smart meter initiative. The initiative expects to fit 26 million domestic smart meters in the country by 2020, powering national energy efficiency. Using IFS Applications, the company offers national energy suppliers a fully-managed smart meter service, with asset financing and installation, managed logistics and customer communications, also feeding critical data from engineers in the field via IFS Mobile Work Order application. These advanced capabilities in the last mile deliver a powerful competitive edge for energy providers.
PREDICTION 2:
BY 2023, 75% OF UTILITIES ASSETS WILL BE DIGITALLY CONNECTED—BUT HOW THEY’RE INTEGRATED WILL BE MAKE OR BREAK
For proactive consumers, diversification means more options over which energy they use, how much they pay for it and even how they can store and sell it back….
