by Brianna Crandall — June 22, 2015—A new report from Navigant Research analyzes the global demand response (DR) market, including global market forecasts for DR sites and technology spending through 2024.
Drivers
A number of forces are driving increased adoption of DR, not only in North America but around the world. The changing resource mix in electric grids globally is creating more potential for DR to play a pivotal role in managing the grid and conserving overall energy use. According to the report, global DR spending is expected to grow from $183.8 million annually in 2015 to more than $1.3 billion in 2024.
“The most important development in the DR market is the spread of automated demand response (ADR), which automates the DR dispatch process, from the grid operator to the DR aggregator (if involved) to the end-use customer—all without any manual intervention,” says Brett Feldman, senior research analyst with Navigant Research. “Advances in metering, communications, and controls technologies are making ADR a viable alternative in both the commercial and industrial and the residential sectors.”
Challenges
One potential impediment to the expansion of DR, according to the report, is a major case before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) jurisdiction over DR that could drastically alter the DR landscape in the United States. If the Court overturns FERC’s Order 745, which requires wholesale energy markets to pay the same for DR as they do for electricity generation, it could cause a huge disruption in the DR industry.
The report, Demand Response Enabling Technologies, available for purchase on the Navigant Research Web site, analyzes the global DR market, with a focus on three main categories of DR enabling technologies: metering, communications, and controls. It provides an analysis of the market issues, including drivers and challenges, associated with DR enabling technologies.
Global market forecasts for DR sites and spending, segmented by application (residential and commercial and industrial, or C&I), type, and region, extend through 2024. The report also examines DR adoption trends by country and provides profiles of key residential and C&I DR providers. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the Navigant Research Web site.
