The World Energy Council has estimated an additional 100 GW of energy will be required to sustain rapid growth in Gulf Cooperation Council countries over the next 10 years.
According to analysts from TechNavio, an independent research firm, “GCC countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE are witnessing rapid growth in business, entertainment, tourism, and education, which is leading to an unprecedented increase in power demand.”
The investment needed to generate this required power supply is expected to be US$50 million for new power generating facilities and US$20 million for desalination processes. The rapid growth in the GCC power industry will increase demand for gas insulated switchgears, the global market for which is growing at a CAGR of 10.54 percent from 2014-2018.
Demand from this area has been attracting international vendors, with ABB Ltd reporting last week that it has won an order from the Saudi Electricity Company to boost electricity infrastructure capacity and performance in western Saudi Arabia.
According to a release from the Swiss company, the new infrastructure will connect the Taif East Governorate to the national transmission grid.
“The 110 kV power supply enabled by the substations will serve the settlements of Turbah, Al-Khurmah and Rania, mitigating the use of diesel-generated power in isolated areas,” says the release.
Gas insulated switchgears form the basis for electricity transmission and distribution networks. While they are in general more expensive than their air insulated counterparts, they have the advantage of occupying 20 percent less footprint area.
Rapid urbanizations in densely populated areas is creating huge demand for better management of industrial and commercial space. Gas insulated switchgears are a solid solution, because they greatly reduce space occupancy costs, a fact which hasn’t escaped the notice of major vendors in the market.
ABB Ltd., Alstom S.A., and Siemens AG have all recently increased their R&D budget in order to meet the growing demand for smaller, more energy efficient systems.
TechNavio analysts report that, according to the Energy Information Association, in 2010, the world energy consumption was 524 quadrillion BTU and this is expected to increase to 630 quadrillion BTU by 2020 and 820 quadrillion BTU by 2040.
“More than 85 percent of the increased demand for world energy from 2010 to 2040 is expected to come from developing countries and is mainly driven by strong economic growth and expanding populations. As the demand for gas insulated switchgears is directly related to the demand for energy, the Global Gas Insulated Switchgear market is expected to register considerable growth.”
For more insights, view our Global Gas Insulated Switchgear Market 2014-2018 report.
