2014 Australia - Smart Infrastructure - Smart Energy driven by The Internet of Things

Report Cover Image

Last updated: 5 Feb 2014 Update History

Report Status: Archived

Report Pages: 128

Analyst: Paul Budde

Publication Overview

This report provides overviews and critical statistical information on the electricity market, as well as detailed information on smart grid, smart meter projects and the key players in this market. It covers the areas where smart grids are going to play an important role such as in the developments in PV (Solar Energy) and smart cars as well as their implications on national infrastructure. Special chapters are dedicated to smart technologies for energy efficiency which depends on having the correct data (big data) from various sources analysed in real time for instant decision making processes. The report also discusses Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication which is rapidly becoming a key element of smart grids.

Researchers:- Paul Budde, Kylie Wansink
Current publication date:- February 2014(10th Edition)

Executive Summary

Australia is right up with the international leaders

With a better understanding of the complexity of the transformation of the electricity industry, the words ‘smart energy’ are becoming more prominent. BuddeComm believes that the term ‘smart grids’ is too narrow and that eventually ‘smart energy’ will become the accepted terminology, especially once the communications developments in national broadband networks and mobile broadband start to converge with smart grid developments.

Smart energy signifies a system that is more integrated and scalable, which extends through the distribution system from businesses and homes, back to the sources of energy. A smarter energy system has sensors and controls embedded into its fabric. Because it is interconnected there is a two-way flow of information and energy across the network, including information on pricing. In addition it is intelligent, making use of proactive analytics and automation to transform data into insights and efficiently manage resources.

This links with the telecoms development known as M2M or the ‘internet of things’ (IOT). For this to happen, various functional areas within the energy ecosystem must be engaged – consumers, business customers, energy providers, regulators, the utility’s own operations, smart meters, grid operations, work and asset management, communications, and the integration of distributed resources.

With energy consumption expected to grow worldwide by more than 40% over the next 25 years, demand in some parts of the world could exceed 100% in that time. This will produce an increase in competition for resources, resulting in higher costs. In an environment such as this, energy efficiency will become even more important.

Quite apart from any increased demand for energy in specific markets, the move to more sustainable technologies such as electric vehicles and distributed and renewable generation, will add even more complexity to operations within the energy sector.

Concerns about issues such as energy security, environmental sustainability, and economic competitiveness, are triggering a shift in energy policy, technology, and consumer focus. This, in turn, is making it necessary to move on from the traditional energy business models.

As a consequence, utilities could end up in a similar situation to the companies that invested in the building of the internet infrastructure – they may own the means of delivering electricity and associated services, but may not be able to take advantage of the new business opportunities that will arise. This will limit their opportunities for future growth.

Another problem will surface when, due to users reducing consumption and producing energy themselves through energy-efficient strategies, the traditional pricing models become inadequate in terms of maintaining the energy infrastructure.

The potential for transformation of the energy industry to smart energy is still at a very early stage. Valuable advances have already been made in some areas, but consensus needs to be reached regarding a collective approach to inter-operability and technical standards.

The report covers all of the major players and their projects, as well as the latest updates on the Smart City/Smart Grid project that will be finalised this year.

Victoria remains the leader in the roll-out of the next generation of smart meters, with over 90% of the roll-out completed by early 2014.

Special attention is given to the M2M or IOT developments, and the arrival of Google (Nest) in this market will shock the industry, similar to how the smartphone did to the mobile industry.

Data in this report is the latest available at the time of preparation and may not be for the current year

Related Reports

Share this Report

TMT Intelligence

A platform to scale your intelligence tasks

Monitor critical insights with our AI-powered Market Intelligence Platform gathering and analyzing intelligence in real time. With AI trained to spot emerging trends and detect new strategic opportunities, our clients use TMT Intelligence to accelerate their growth.

If you want to know more about it, please see:

TMT Intelligence Platform

Research Methodology

BuddeComm's strategic business reports contain a combination of both primary and secondary research statistics, analyses written by our senior analysts supported by a network of experts, industry contacts and researchers from around the world as well as our own scenario forecasts.

For more details, please see:

Research Methodology

More than 4,000 customers from 140 countries utilise BuddeComm Research

Are you interested in BuddeComm's Custom Research Service?

News & Views

Have the latest telecommunications industry news delivered to your inbox by subscribing to BuddeComm's weekly newsletter.

Unsubscribe