Analysis of the North American Commercial and Industrial (C&I) Microgrid Market, 2017

Transition from a Niche Application to a Wider Application Fuels Microgrid Adoption

This research service analyzes the North American commercial and industrial (C&I) microgrid market by end users (commercial and industrial), US region (Northeast, Midwest, west, Southeast), and trends and provides revenue forecast till 2023. This study also discusses key trends and analyzes the business models for microgrid in North America. Additionally, there is also focus on the top participants in the global market such as ABB, Siemens, Schneider Electric, S&C Electric, Toshiba, and GE. The study also discusses the growth opportunities for companies in the North American market, along with strategic imperatives for success and growth for the companies.

Research Scope

The study period is from 2016 to 2023, with 2017 as the base year. The forecast period is from 2018 to 2023. The market size in the study represents the total revenue generated by microgrid vendors annually. Revenue calculations include both brownfield and greenfield mcirogrid projects. For brownfield calculations, revenue generated from software and controllers are included, and for greenfield revenue calculations, we have included software, controllers and distributed energy resources.

Based on the end-user segment, the study is segmented into two broad categories including commercial and industrial. Manufacturing: Includes aerospace and defence, alcoholic beverages, automobiles/boats/motor vehicles, chemicals/petrochemicals, concrete/glass/building materials, farming/mining machinery and equipment, food and dairy product manufacturing, furniture manufacturing, heavy machinery, non-alcoholic beverages, paper/paper products, plastics/rubber manufacturing, textiles/apparel/accessories, tools/hardware/light machinery, and other manufacturing sectors.

Commercial: Data centers, hospitals, small franchises (this consists of food franchises and retail outlets) and education: College campus and K-12.

Research Highlights

According to the Department of Energy (DoE), microgrid is defined as aggregation of distributed energy resources within clearly defined boundaries that can be controlled as a single entity by the grid operator. Such grids can operate in both grid-connected mode and island mode.

According to this research, 72.0% of heavy electricity users already have some form of onsite power in addition to accessing the grid. Majority of the C&I customer base have installed cogen systems or backup power systems for numerous years, either driven by regulations (in the case of critical facilities) or for the operational requirements.

Thus, brownfields have become an attractive option for microgrid projects where customers can use their existing onsite power and connect these to intelligent smart control and communication technologies.

Key Issues Addressed

• How big is the North American C&I microgrid market? At what rate is it expected to grow?
• Which states or regions are hotspots for microgrid growth? What policies and regulations are driving this growth?
• Which end user within C&I will present the best growth opportunities in the next 5 to 7 years?
• How will the market structure and business model change over the next 5 to 7 years?
• What does the competitive structure look like?
• What are the various costs, revenues, and tariffs associated with microgrids?