Smart Solar Market Size, Share and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Service (Asset Management, Network Monitoring, Meter Data Management, Remote Metering, And Others), By Device (Smart Solar Meters, Intelligrid, and Radio-Frequency Identification [RFID]), By Application (Residential, Commercial & Industrial, and Utility), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027

The global smart solar market size was valued at USD 8.52 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 13.33 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 9.95% during the 2020-2027 forecast period. The rising investments in the smart energy market and the reduction in solar PV costs are some of the factors that are projected to fuel the market growth of smart solar industry.

Smart solar systems are the enhanced version of traditional solar energy systems. The deployment of smart solar solutions helps users minimize their electricity expenses and increase solar components' efficiency by real-time monitoring and communication. The United States (U.S.), China, Germany, and Spain are the world's richest solar resources. In 2019, a total of 116.9 GW of new solar photovoltaic projects were installed globally, representing a 13% growth rate over the 103.7 GW additions the year before and marking a new solar record.

Disruption in Supply Chain amid COVID-19 to Impact Upcoming Solar Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic impact on several business sectors such as manufacturing, aviation, hospitality, and others has been explicit and unprecedented. The lockdown & restriction in the wake of the pandemic has affected economies severely across the globe, disrupting supply chains, delaying projects, and creating a labor shortage. In several countries worldwide, the renewable sector is mainly dependent on imports from other regions, mainly from China. Around 80% of solar cells and modules in India are imported from China and other equipment such as inverters, prefabricated structures, and raw materials. In India, solar project developers are worried about project delays due to the slowdown of manufacturing in China, followed by the lockdown in India. Major solar equipment suppliers have also observed production delays due to COVID-19, causing a massive backlog for fulfilling orders. Recently, in July 2020, the Seychelles government has confirmed that the construction of a floating solar PV power plant will be delayed due to concerns about the global pandemic.

LATEST TRENDS

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Increasing Acceptance of Paris Climate Change Agreement by Several Countries Across the Globe to Boost Market Growth

The number of countries accepting the Paris Climate Change Agreement has been increasing considerably. This agreement compels countries to upsurge the consumption of renewable sources in the entire power generation. The use of solar energy is drawing substantial attention globally as an innovative strategy to tackle climate change, minimize GHG emissions, and fulfill the Kyoto Protocol agreements. Many countries have set some targets for the utilization of solar energy. The Government of India has set a target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, which includes 100 GW from solar energy. Such targets provide a further boost to the smart solar industry growth in the global market.

DRIVING FACTORS

Growing Installation of Solar Energy Grids to Propel Market Growth

Several environmental protection regulations worldwide are enabling power generation enterprises to shift to cleaner and eco-friendly energy resources. Major countries around the world are highly focused on increasing renewable energy power generation to reduce their dependence on conventional power generation through fossil fuels. Solar energy is one of the key renewable energy sources with the ability to meet many of the world's challenges.

According to SolarPower Europe, the cumulative installation of solar rose to more than 630 GW (Gigawatt), as the world installed 116.9 GW of new solar PV projects in 2019. With 67.1 GW of installation, Asia Pacific region accounted for 55% of all new installations. Hence, such a remarkable yearly solar power capacity installation is certainly boosting the market globally.

High Demand for Smart Solar Technology to Drive Market Growth

This technology is nothing but the enhancement of existing solar technology with improved functionality of components and synchronizing with the presently available systems. This system offers improved functionality, operational efficiencies, optimized performance, and low maintainability. It enables real-time monitoring, analytics, and communication efficiency, which allows them to deliver improved operational performance and control. Thus, the increasing demand for efficient non-conventional energy management solutions across the globe will provide abundant opportunities for smart solar solutions and service providers.

RESTRAINING FACTORS

Land Use Constraint & High Operational & Maintenance Cost to Hinder Market Growth

For solar power generation projects, a huge area of land is needed for efficient power generation. The selection of land for solar power generation can be constrained by environmental or technical reasons in many areas, such as the availability of solar radiation. Also, it is difficult for solar PV operations to be deployed in built-up areas, agricultural land, forest, wetlands, and water bodies due to low accessibility and land instability. Moreover, complex technology, coupled with smart solar devices' high maintenance cost, results in high operation & maintenance expenditure. These factors can hamper the growth of the market.

SEGMENTATION

By Service Analysis

Asset Management Segment is Expected to Grow at Highest Pace

Based on service, the market is segmented into asset management, network monitoring, meter data management, remote metering, and others.

The asset management segment held a dominant smart solar market share in 2019. This growth is majorly driven by technological advancement and stringent regulatory mandates across North America and Europe.

The meter data management segment is expected to grow at a substantial pace during the forecast period owing to the growing roll-outs of smart meters and smart grids. Technological innovation has led to additional functionality of meter data management to support more business processes across the utility value chain such as customer billing, credit management, and meter asset management, which is responsible for the growth of meter data management solutions.

By Device Analysis

Intelligrid Segment Held a Dominant Share of the Market in 2019

The market is segmented into meters, intelligrid, and radio-frequency identification (RFID) based on the grid type.

The intelligrid segment held a dominant share of the market in 2019. Intelligrid is a fully functional power delivery system that incorporates sensors, communications, enhanced computational ability, and electronic control. It delivers reliable, digital-grade power to meet the needs of an increasingly electronic society. The increasing regulatory compliances and government initiatives for adopting non-conventional energy sources, along with the surging electricity tariffs and gas prices, are some of the factors that are driving this market.

The smart solar meters segment is expected to grow at a substantial pace during the forecast period. This is attributable to the growing adoption of smart type of solar meters in several countries that is likely to boost the market growth.

By Application Analysis

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Commercial & Industrial Segment to Grow at Significant Pace

Based on the application, the market is segmented into residential, commercial & industrial, and utility.

The utility segment held a dominant share of the market in 2019. Several ongoing utility-scale solar projects are in the pipeline across the globe that will propel the demand for solar power from the utility sector.

The commercial & industrial segment is anticipated to grow at a significant pace during the forecast period. The increasing demand for energy in various industries is one of the major factors for market growth. To accomplish electricity demand and reduce OPEX, several industries have started to adopt solar plants. In the United States, the commercial & industrial sector consumes more than 26% & 36% of the total electricity production. This increasing demand for electricity in the commercial and industrial sectors has surged the demand for smart products across commercial and industrial applications.

REGIONAL INSIGHTS

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North America is anticipated to lead the global market during the forecast period owing to the rising number of smart solar projects in the region. Additionally, the growing smart solar meter rollouts and the increasing grants and solar subsidies from the U.S. government is expected to boost the market growth in the region. The presence of the key market players in the region further positively influences the growth of the market. North America stood at USD 2.70 billion in 2019.

Asia Pacific is anticipated to be the fastest-growing region in the market. The growth is mainly influenced by the rising government support for solar energy use, a growing number of smart city projects, and an increase in electricity tariffs in the region. In 2019, the region installed more than 67 GW of solar projects. High solar irradiance levels and low manufacturing cost of components are the key factors driving the market growth. High carbon emission reduction targets by several countries, including China and India, coupled with a growing demand for energy consumption, will further fuel the market growth.

Europe is expected to showcase significant smart solar market growth during the forecast period. The rapidly increasing installation of solar farms and encouraging regulations are the key factors driving the growth of the market in Europe. The EU Renewable Energy Directive stated its plan for the promotion & production of sustainable energy sources across the nation. This directive has levied targets to attain 20% renewable adoption in the overall energy mix. Such factors would accelerate the growth of the market in the region.

In the Middle East and Africa, the focus on renewable energy is increasing continuously. The region installed 6.8 GW of new solar PV capacity in 2019, which is over twice as much as the 3.1 GW the year before.

Latin America is likely to hold the least share in the market owing to the lack of government support in most of the developing countries in the region.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Product Development Strategies Adopted By Major Companies to Brighten Their Market Prospects

The global smart solar market is fragmented owing to the presence of a large number of companies in developed and developing countries. Currently, ABB, Itron Inc., Aeris, and General Electric account for a dominant share in 2019.

Product development is a major strategy adopted by major companies. In June 2018, Vikram Solar, India’s leading Solar EPC player and module manufacturer launched its new integrated smart modules, Solivo. The new range of modules integrates Tigo’s flexible module-level power electronics (Flex MLPE), which provide multiple smart features, including module-level remote monitoring, rapid shutdown, power optimization, and longer string designs. Additionally, in July 2017, Flex company NEXTracker launched TrueCapture, an intelligent, self-adjusting tracker control system. The company reports that the control system continuously refines the tracking algorithm of individual solar arrays in response to existing site and weather conditions while delivering 2-6% energy gains.

LIST OF KEY COMPANIES PROFILED:

• ABB (Switzerland)


• Itron Inc. (U.S.)


• Aeris (U.S.)


• Solnet Group (Netherlands)


• Aclara Technologies LLC (U.S.)


• General Electric (U.S.)


• Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd (China)


• Siemens (Germany)


• Landis+Gyr (Switzerland)


• Schneider Electric (France)


• HCL Technologies (India)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

• November 2020: Statkraft, Europe’s largest producer of renewable energy, has signed an agreement to acquire the solar pioneer, Solarcentury. This acquisition is in line with the company’s strategy to ramp up as wind and solar developer and become one of the leading renewable energy companies globally.


• January 2018: Itron, Inc., a world-leading technology and consulting services company, announced that it had completed its acquisition of Silver Spring Networks, Inc. With this acquisition, Itron has strengthened its ability to deliver a broader set of solutions, increase the pace of growth and innovation in the smart city and industrial IoT markets, and provide customers with greater choice and flexibility when deploying technology to improve their operations and services. 


• September 2018: Adesto Technologies, one of the leading providers of innovative application-specific semiconductors and systems for the IoT era, announced the successful acquisition of Echelon Corporation. Echelon Corporation is a pioneer in developing open-standard networking platforms to connect, monitor, and control devices in commercial and industrial applications.


• October 2020: Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG), Siemens’ Smart Infrastructure (SI) and Financial Services (SFS) groups have announced the formation of Calibrant Energy, a joint venture that offers comprehensive onsite Energy as a Service (EaaS) solutions at no up-front cost for its customers, which include corporate and industrial clients, as well as municipalities, universities, schools, and hospitals.

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The market research report includes a detailed solar power industry analysis and focuses on key aspects such as leading companies, service, device, and leading product applications. Besides this, the report offers insights into the market trends and highlights key industry developments. In addition to the aforementioned factors, the report encompasses several factors that have contributed to the advanced market growth over recent years.

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