Power substation automation Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

Power Substation Automation Market Overview

The global Power Substation Automation Market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.68% during the forecast period 2022-2027 and reach $28.61 billion by 2027, from around $19.61 billion in 2021. The significant adoption of smart grids in smart cities alongside the growth in renewable energy sector is set to escalate the market growth rate during forecast period 2022-2027. In 2020, IEA stated that renewables used for generating electricity will grow by almost 7% in 2020. Renewable capacity additions are on track for a record expansion of nearly 10% in 2021. This is mainly the result of previously auctioned utility-scale solar PV and wind projects in France and Germany coming online. Growth is supported by member states’ policies to meet the bloc’s 2030 renewable energy target. Substation Automation Systems (SAS) through SCADA Systems, Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) provide protection, control, automation, monitoring, and communication capabilities as a part of a comprehensive substation control and monitoring solution. To improve the system's overall efficiency and productivity, a substation automation system automates some repetitive, laborious, and error-prone operations such as those related to protective relay and load tap changers. With the rising demand for smart cities and smart grids, the market is analyzed to grow at significant rate during forecast period 2022-2027.

Report Coverage

The report: “Power Substation Automation Market – Forecast (2022-2027)”, by IndustryARC covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Power Substation Automation market

By Type: Transmission Substation Automation, Distribution Substation automation and collector/tie line substation automation)

By Module: Hardware, SCADA, communication network technology

By Stage: Retrofit & New construction

By End User: Utilities & Industrial

By Geography: North America (U.S, Canada, Mexico), South America (Brazil, Argentina and others), Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia and Others), APAC (China, Japan India, SK, Aus and Others), and RoW (Middle east and Africa)

Key Takeaways

• While the accessible potential for deployment of wireless connectivity in substation automation is high, the acceptance of the technology is afflicted by myriad set anxieties and worries close to the wireless technology, one among which is the lack of interoperability
• Approximately 83% of the end-users across substation automation regarded interoperability as major concern.
• Accomplishment of interoperability would necessitate a construction of full fledged architecture with software based systems, in which disparate standards can be applied.
• Being connected to a substation and retrieving vital information from remote devices has always been a challenge for system designers. Not all the substations are of the same size or importance. Many substations are in remote areas where communication could be the biggest challenge when it comes to monitoring a substation.
  

Power Substation Automation Market Segment Analysis – By Application

Utilities dominated the Power Substation Automation Market with a value share of approximately 78% in 2021. The significant investments in the sector are contributing to the market growth rate. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than US$30 million in federal funding, matched by more than US$35 million in private sector funds. In 2021, USDA announced to invest US$598 million to improve, modernize rural electric infrastructure. With the implementation of smart grids, both utilities and consumers expect the energy market to work more efficiently and more cost-effectively. Unlike traditional grid management, smart grids provide operators with the opportunity to monitor remotely substations and grid assets in real-time data. They add distributed automation features, and enable predictive maintenance. Traditional grid management, which involved primary substation assets such as circuit breakers and transformers, is very limited by its communication protocols. The traditional grid management structure requires a dedicated link between the substation control system and a regional control centre. As such, traditional grid management can no longer meet the increasing demand for flexibility, stricter operating and environmental regulations, and the larger number of stakeholders in a deregulated industry. Transitioning to smart grid management will provide an infrastructure that supports multiple distributed energy resources, digital substations and smart grid technology. This combination which will help manage the demand of energy, reduce costs for both energy suppliers and consumers and save energy in the long-term contributing to a healthier environment. 

Power Substation Automation Market Segment Analysis – By End User

A transmission substation connects two or more transmission lines, and can range from simple to complex. A transmission station may have transformers to convert between two transmission voltages, voltage control/power factor correction devices such as capacitors, reactors or static VAR compensators and equipment such as phase shifting transformers to control power flow between two adjacent power systems. The global transmission type substation automation market was around $11.06bn in 2021 and is estimated to reach $15.74 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 6.24%. This is the majority substation type in the overall substation automation market. A distribution substation transfers power from the transmission system to the distribution system of an area. In some situations it is uneconomical to directly connect electricity consumers to the main transmission network, unless they use large amounts of power, so the distribution station reduces voltage to a level suitable for local distribution. The downtown areas of large cities feature complicated distribution substations, with high-voltage switching, and switching and backup systems on the low-voltage side. In addition to transforming voltage, distribution substations also isolate faults in either the transmission or distribution systems.

Power Substation Automation Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

North America dominated the Power Substation Automation Market with a value share of approximately 39% in 2021. The investments and the government plans are the major factors contributing to the growth in the region. The Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) program aimed to accelerate the modernization of the nation’s electric transmission and distribution systems. The program selected projects electricity providers across the nation with plans to upgrade their systems. With regard to industries such as utilities, renewable energy, and oil and gas, the United States has emerged as the world's most potential market for substation-related projects. To increase the reliability and capacity of transmission and distribution networks, utilities in the United States are investing heavily in replacing, upgrading, and extending new and existing transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Power Substation Automation Market Drivers

Industry 4.0 and Increase in adoption of substation automation across Utilities and Industries

Industry 4.0 revolution creates smart automation in the phase of industrialization. Increasing demand for machines in the manufacturing sector is set to push the process automation market to new heights. Implementation of process automation in industries results in many benefits such as productivity gains, improved team performance, enhanced managerial reporting, error reduction, cost reduction, and higher quality. The growing need to achieve process optimization in lesser time in the industrial operations coupled with various government initiatives to adopt automation is driving the process automation market. The modernization of smart power grids, integration of renewable energy sources and criticality of energy availability, drive the increasing demand to monitor power-related information from the edge. Smart monitoring enables businesses to control and protect their facilities and energy assets. Along with the increasing investments in power industry it is also observed that the key players in oil and gas and utility sector are planning for the upgradation of the substations which is expected to drive the power substation automation market. With the Industry 4.0 standards being evolved , it is not only the Engineering aspect of the Power Generation, Transmission or Distribution, but also the running plants which are getting ready for the future. 

Increase in Technology Developments and Digitization Requirements

The advanced developments in wireless technology have opened up new ways for this market with improved quality and increase in production, which is further expected to fuel the demand for substation automation. The data-hungry digital economy requires highly efficient power networks. The demand for high-quality and reliable energy systems grows across industries as digitization continues to change world. Substation automation systems are used by companies where power availability is critical, and energy control and monitoring is a necessity. The demand for substation automation solutions has evolved. With multi-touch technologies such as PLC, DCS, MES, and SCADA, automation equipment has become more sophisticated, carrying out more complex actions at a low operating cost. Also, coupled with the advancements in sensor technology, these technologies have started the era of smart manufacturing, resulting in business process improvement.

Power Substation Automation Market Challenges

Lack of skilled workforce and substation automation needs monitoring

According to Paradox of Automation, the more well-organized and efficient an automated system, the more crucial the human contribution of the operators. Hence, training the workforce with the skills required for the industry process automation is a strategic concern in the growth and development outlook of this sector. Having a knowledgeable and well-staffed local team on hand to help with process automation issues is absolutely necessary for proper functioning. The substation automation transformation trend is accelerating the miniaturization of technology and the pace of integrating industrial applications with electronics. A major challenge to the OEMs is to enhance the receptiveness of education and training systems to these fluctuations in skill requirements and to enhance the access to training and skills development. Ultimately, the growth of substation automation depends on the availability of relevant labor force and how productive they are, which solely rests on the skills they possess and how effectively those skills are implemented.

Power Substation Automation Market Landscape

Technology launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the Power Substation Automation market. In 2021, the market of Power Substation Automation market has been consolidated by the top players

• Hitachi
• GE
• Siemens
• Schneider Electric
• Mitsubishi Electric
• Eaton
• Cisco
• S&C Electric
• SEL
• Honeywell

Recent Developments

• In June 2021, ABB has joined forces with Swiss utility Axpo to develop modular green hydrogen production plants in Italy. The two companies will apply their complementary skills to achieve affordable green hydrogen, with ABB harnessing its automation, electrification, and digital leadership in industrial operations and Axpo’s experience as an established energy provider.
• In December 2020, Siemens Smart Infrastructure launched its new PowerLink CM, a condition monitoring solution for high-voltage AC and DC transmission lines

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