SO. KOREA PIONEERING SMART GRID

Smart Grid in Korea; Smart Power Grid, Consumers, Transportation, Renewable Energy, and Electricity Service: Market Analysis and Forecasts
March 29, 2010 (Pike Research)
and
Smart Grid in Korea; Smart Power Grid, Consumers, Transportation, Renewable Energy, and Electricity Service: Market Analysis and Forecasts
Hoonho (Andy) Bae and Clint Wheelock, 1Q 2010 (Pike Research)

"…In the early 20th century, Korea lagged behind other industrialized regions in technology development and service offerings…[and] the Korean War destroyed almost all social infrastructure…Since then, though, Korea has seen…an era of innovation driven by information technology…[and] transformed into a global technology hub…[with] ultra high-speed broadband access, nationwide 3G mobile services, and the world’s first commercial mobile WiMAX service. Innovation in Korea has spurred ongoing projects in home automation/home networking services and…contributed to the growth engine of the Korean economy.

"However, the days of taking the grid for granted are coming to a close. Economic, technical, environmental, and political challenges call for fundamental changes in how electricity is generated, distributed, and used…[as well as reducing] climate changing carbon emissions…[I]n 2008 the Korean government established a “Green Growth” policy and a smart grid roadmap…Globally, the energy and utility industry is on the verge of a massive overhaul of electric generation, transmission and distribution systems, and the means by which consumers make energy use decisions…"

click to enlarge

"High-voltage transmission lines, enabled by new materials and voltage control technologies, promise to reduce line losses…[of power from] renewable generation plants…far from the energy-consuming population centers. New distribution automation technologies that dynamically control local voltage levels can offer significant power consumption reductions while providing improved power quality to consumers and faster outage detection, correction, and prevention.

"…The companies providing products and services for the smart grid [such as smart meters] are as wide and diverse as the technologies and applications involved…[T]he smart grid represents the melding of traditional industrial grid companies, communications equipment and services firms, and IT hardware, software, and services companies. The result will be no less transformative than the integration of the voice, data, and video communications industries…Pike Research believes Korea has a positive market environment for the smart grid…"

click to enlarge
click to enlarge

"By leveraging its technology leadership in the IT and communications space, Korea aims to form an advanced smart grid structure that includes improved power generation and distribution efficiencies, the incorporation of renewable and distributed generation resources, and support for transportation infrastructure shifts toward electric vehicles…Korean electricity supplier KEPCO has…[invested] $4.2 billion annually…As a result of the company’s R&D and investments in the enhancement of intelligent grids, Korea has become one of the leading countries in terms of advanced power grid service. Indeed, Korea has the lowest transmission and distribution system outage time and loss rate in the world.

"The Korean government has supported the development of core smart grid technologies by Korean R&D institutions since 2005…Korea’s commitment to the IT sector and government-driven policy will result in competitive products and services…Smart grid infrastructure in Korea represents a large market opportunity. Pike Research…[predicts] revenue in Korea will grow from approximately $906 million in 2010 to $3.8 billion in 2016. While much of the market attention has been on metering infrastructure, transmission upgrades and distribution automation systems actually represent the largest opportunities worldwide."