A quick peek into the report
Market Overview
The power sector contributes a major share to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for any country and is a significant source for its economic growth. The Asia Pacific region consists of many developing nations, such as Malaysia, and India, among others, which owing to the lack of proper infrastructure have high percentage of unelectrified areas. Moreover, several countries in the region, such as Indonesia, and Philippines, have numerous islands and are faced with the difficulty of establishing the required infrastructure in these remote areas. The countries have to spend millions of dollars to extend grid to these remote areas, which is currently not a viable option. Therefore, with the aim of achieving 100% rural electrification rates, the Asia Pacific countries have switched to the distributed forms of energy, such as microgrids and minigrids.
A microgrid is a small-scale power grid that can operate independently or in conjunction with the area's main electrical grid. Microgrids have become a viable business model attributing to the sharp decline in the prices of energy generation technologies, such as solar, and wind. Additionally, the decreasing costs of the energy storage technologies, such as Lithium ion batteries, have improved the economics of microgrids with numerous policies being formulated for the promotion of the same. The governments of several countries across the Asia Pacific region are implementing policies to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels and promote energy security. This has led to an increase in the funds allocated for the promotion of renewable energy projects. Several banks, such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), have also extended their support to the countries, such as India, and Pakistan, among others, by providing funds to achieve the rural electrification targets.
Several microgrid projects were installed during 2015, 2016, and 2017 across several Asia Pacific countries. Rural microgrid projects have increased in the countries that are experiencing high percentage of unelectrified areas, whilst the commercial/industrial microgrid projects have increased in countries having 100% electrification rates. The number of renewable energy based hybrid microgrid projects has increased when compared with stand-alone projects. The consumption of energy storage technologies, such as Lithium Ion batteries, has also increased exponentially owing to their decreasing costs and added benefits over the conventional batteries.
Major Trends Driving the Market Growth
Many of the Asia Pacific countries have a high percentage of population with no access to electricity, providing them electricity is the major priority of all the governments for which budgets are being allocated, along with the formulation of policies. These policy mandates will drive the market for microgrids. These technologies have witnessed a sharp decline in their installation costs, therefore, making the microgrids business model an economically viable solution. Major reason that can be attributed to this skepticism of the stakeholders in this market, across the Asia Pacific countries, is policy uncertainty, an unfavourable policy may result in extra expenditure due to prolonged delays in getting an authorisation, and difficulties to access finance and incentives, among others.
Distributed energy management systems and next generation software that build mathematical model and predict the return on investment with the maximum accuracy act as opportunities for the APAC microgrid market. These software are being employed by several global players, such as ABB, and Schneider Electric, among others, and several product launches related to the software have been witnessed as well. Homer energy solutions is expected to dominate the market in this segment. Another opportunity that is believed to be a lucrative one is the blockchain technology. It is currently in the experimental stage, and its first pilot project has been a successful run.
Role of Regulatory Bodies and Consortia
Microgrid market in Asia Pacific is highly influenced by various program and policies, such as smart grid plans, and rural electrification policies, among others. These policies are formulated and implemented by various regulatory bodies, such as ministries related to renewable energy, along with utilities, and the Energy Service Company (ESCO), among others. These bodies are implementing policies for the promotion of rural electrification, encouraging the use of renewable energy sources, and reducing the dependency on fossil fuels for meeting the energy demand. Regulatory bodies have also introduced tariffs and incentives to make microgrids business model more attractive to the stakeholders. The adoption of a proper policy framework and initiated amendments in the policies, by several countries, have helped various stakeholders to implement numerous microgrid projects across the globe, thus, driving the APAC microgrid market.
Asia Pacific Microgrid Market Size
The following figure provides a snapshot of the Asia Pacific microgrid market size:
FIGURE 1
ASIA PACIFIC MICROGRID MARKET SIZE SNAPSHOT, 2016 & 2026
Source: Secondary Analysis, Expert Views and BIS Research Analysis
The Asia Pacific microgrid market for energy generation and energy storage technologies is expected to reach a market size of approximately $XX billion by 2026. Decreasing costs of solar and lithium ion batteries, policy mandates, and the need to ensure energy security, among others, are some of the key factors which act as major drivers for the growth of this market.
Asia Pacific Microgrid Market Size by Technology Type and Application
Asia Pacific relies extensively on diesel power and other fossil fuels for its electricity needs. The prices of fossil fuels fluctuate frequently resulting in unpredictable losses to the industries and ultimately to the GDP of the country. This has led to the increase in the use of renewable energy technologies, such as solar and wind. Moreover, lithium ion batteries are witnessing the same trend attributing to their decreasing costs and increased efficiency. Energy generation technologies accounted for a major share of approximately XX% in 2016. It was valued at $XX million in 2016, and is expected to reach $XX million in 2026, at a CAGR of XX%, during the forecast period 2016-2026. Energy storage technologies was valued at $XX million in 2016, and is expected to reach $XX million in 2026, at a CAGR of XX%, during forecast period 2016-2026. This growth can be attributed to the lithium ion batteries which will drive the market for energy storage technologies in the APAC microgrid market.
The microgrids are mainly being implemented in the remote or rural areas of Asia Pacific, since several countries in the region have a significant percentage of population with no access to electricity. The countries, such as Australia, China and Japan are investing extensively into the commercial and industrial sector to ensure energy security and meet the increasing energy demand in their respective countries. Residential application accounted for a major share of approximately XX% in 2016 due to high installation across various end use industries. It is also expected that rural/residential application will grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. It was valued at $XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach $XX million in 2026.
Asia Pacific Microgrid Market Size by Geography
Asia Pacific is witnessing extensive investments into microgrids, both from the regulatory bodies, and companies. Adoption of microgrids is expected to help the countries achieve their rural electrification targets which will drive the need for energy generation and storage technologies across all the countries of Asia Pacific. China accounted for a major share of approximately of XX% in 2016. However, Philippines is expected to grow at the fastest pace when compared with other countries. It was valued at $XX million in 2016, and is expected to reach at $XX million in 2026, at a CAGR of XX%, during the forecast period 2016-2026.
Competitive Landscape
The competitive landscape for the Asia Pacific microgrid market exhibits an inclination towards organizations adopting strategies, such as mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, and product launches, among others. Contracts, collaborations, partnerships, agreements, and joint ventures were the key business development strategies, and accounted for XX% share from 2015 to 2017, among all the developmental strategies in order to grow and expand business. Many global companies, such as ABB, and Schneider electric are foreseeing the Asia Pacific countries as the most lucrative markets for microgrids across remote/island, community and industrial microgrids.
For instance, in Oct-2016, ABB recently launched its plug and play microgrid solution which is suitable for remote area application as well as commercial and industrial applications. BPCG plans to invest $1 billion in the next 5 years in Thailand. As there is no such single company which provides all the microgrid solutions single handedly, the key players are collaborating with energy generation and storage manufacturers to provide all the solutions in one go. Extensive Investments being made by major players and companies into the microgrid market of Asia Pacific is a clear indicator that the market is expected to witness a robust growth in the near future.
APAC Microgrid Market
Analysis & Forecast (2017-2026) Focus on Technology Type, Energy Generation (Solar PV, Wind Turbine, Diesel Gensets) & Energy Storage (Lithium Ion Batteries, Lead Acid Batteries), Application, Residential & Commercial