Smart grids to dominate smart city spending through 2026

A new report released by Juniper Research states that investments in smart grids across the globe will dominate smart city developments made between 2020 and 2026.

The report, Smart Cities: Key Technologies, Environmental Impact & Market Forecasts 2022-2026, states that the global annual spending on smart city projects will increase from $35 billion in 2021 to $70 billion, with the majority of the spending directed towards improving grid resilience and intelligence through smart technologies.

According to Juniper Research, smart grid technologies will result in over 1,000TWh of electricity savings in 2026, the equivalent energy required to power Greater London for 5 years.

The research firm forecasts smart city projects will achieve energy savings of up to $96 billion in 2026, an achievement that will drive increased rollouts as cities will seek to improve their energy sustainability and achieve a higher return on investments.

Amongst the 50 cities assessed on transportation and infrastructure, energy and lighting, city management and technology, and urban connectivity progress, China’s Shanghai has been named the world’s number one smart city for 2022.

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Shanghai, owing to its Citizen Cloud, has managed to centralise consumer shopping, ensuring access to over 1,000 smart city services and products.

The city has been identified as a leader in the rapid deployment of smart city applications including data management platforms.

Digital tools for utility management and public services have become common in many cities across Asia; a development that resulted in an increase in the number of Asian cities making it onto the ‘leading smart cities’ ranking.

South Korea’s Seoul came in second to Shangai, whilst Beijing made it to number four.

Spain’s Barcelona has been ranked third whilst New York made it to number 5.

Mike Bainbridge, co-author of the report said: “Many cities have deployed technology and data to help local authorities reduce environmental impact and energy usage.

“The top cities in our recent ranking are finding innovative ways to leverage that technology to deliver observable benefits for their citizens as well.”

The launch comes as utility companies are ramping up investments in digitalisation to ensure real-time management of grid networks and energy consumption and in the process help consumers save energy and lower bills.

Such developments are leading to improved customer services and helping utility firms to accelerate the penetration of renewables for decarbonisation.