Smart grid spending to top $45 billion (Boston)

With the attention on sustainable energy sources and energy management, global spending on the smart grid — including smart meters and upgrades to transmission networks — will surpass $45 billion by the year 2015, according to a forecast by New York-based ABI Research.

ABI, which conducts market research in information technology and energy fields, defines a smart grid as an energy generation, transmission and distribution system equipped with advanced two-way communications systems allowing for greater visibility, control and automation over the system for the utility operator.

Larry Fisher, research director of NextGen, the ABI unit that published the study, said, “Most of the electric utility infrastructure deployed in the industrialized world was built between 60 and 80 years ago. Much of this infrastructure is outdated, and with the continuing increase in demand for power year after year, the grid cannot safely and reliably manage the loads of today and tomorrow without significant upgrades.”

Transmission and distribution investments will account for the lion’s share of smart grid investments, totaling almost $41 billion over the coming five years.

Read more in Mass High Tech.