North America to Lead Microgrid Energy Market by 2020 with 6 Gigawatts of Total Capacity

In moving forward to meet the ever growing energy demands of the world, recent research show that North America will take the lead in the microgrid energy market by the end of this decade with a total power capacity of close to 6 gigawatts. This forecast is based on research published by Navigant Research, the dedicated research arm of Navigant, which provides market research and benchmarking services for rapidly changing and often highly regulated industries – including the energy sector.

After examining technology trends to provide a comprehensive view of the Smart Energy sectors, Navigant Research is optimistic about the recent launch of dozens of successful pilot programs globally, and the adoption rate of microgrids which is expected to accelerate over the next several years.

“The U.S. has pockets of poor power quality scattered across the country, as well as a structure of behind-the-meter markets for distributed energy resources that favors microgrids,” says Peter Asmus, principal research analyst with Navigant Research. “The latter has stimulated creative aggregation possibilities at the retail level of power service. Instead of being driven by grid operators or municipal utilities, which is the case in Europe, the microgrid market in the United States is customer-driven.”

The concept of Microgrids is catching on based in part on their capability of “islanding.” This term refers to a mircogrid’s ability to isolate themselves, when necessary, from the wider power grid. Microgrids also offer greater resilience and a high potential for integrating distributed renewable generation resources.

Navigant Research estimates that North America will maintain its current status as the leader in the microgrid market through 2020, and should reach a total microgrid capacity in North America of 5.9 gigawatts by that time. This power capacity will represent 64 percent of worldwide capacity.