A new report from Navigant Research analyzes the global market for the eight underlying technologies that are the primary components of synchrophasors/wide area situational awareness (SWASA) solutions, including global market forecasts for revenue and installations through 2023.
To detect many system problems on the power grid, a new generation of wide-area situational awareness systems is being used to collect and transmit data to identify high-speed disturbances before they cause outages. Known as synchrophasors, these analytics tools can aggregate the data, make comparisons with other nodes on the network, and coordinate and synchronize the measurements to ensure the reliability and smooth functioning of the grid. According to a new report from Navigant Research, utilities are expected to invest nearly $107 billion from 2014 through 2023 in synchrophasors and wider-area situational awareness systems.
“In the United States, grid operators have begun to digest the results of the 9 Department of Energy-funded projects completed in 2013, and will likely factor the costs of implementation into future rate cases,” says James McCray, senior market analyst with Navigant Research. “Critical factors in accelerating growth in the market during in the coming years include the development and acceptance of more complex analytics, and automation approaches that rapidly resolve network issues without intervention at the operation center.”
The advent of smart grid technology has vastly expanded the amount of data on grid operations that can be collected and, in theory, acted upon, according to the report. Because high voltage alternating current transmission systems operate at 50 or 60 megahertz, many of the underlying disturbances can only be seen in high-frequency, 30 or 60 readings-per-second interval data on voltage, current, phase angles and other system characteristics.
The report, “Synchrophasors and Wide Area Situational Awareness,” analyzes the global market for the eight underlying technologies that are the primary components of SWASA solutions. It provides an analysis of the market drivers and barriers and regional trends associated with synchrophasors and wide area situational awareness. Global market forecasts for revenue and installations, segmented by technology and region, extend through 2023. The report also examines the key technologies related to SWASA solutions, as well as the competitive landscape, and provides case studies of SWASA projects.
