Over at https://www.smart-energy.com , they asked a number of global energy industry experts for their predictions for 2020 at European Utility Week and POWERGEN Europe recently. Here's what they had to say about what they foresee in the year ahead.
Heymi Bahar, an analyst with the International Energy Agency, said: "We predicted that the renewable energy markets would rebound in 2019 from 2018’s installed capacity. I guess that, in 2020, we will see a higher rebound because of Chinese and US deployments of onshore wind."
Christos Aslanidis, director of PRIME Alliance, said: "On the one hand, it’s the reduction of the carbon emissions and meeting the 20-20-20 targets, and on the other, it’s use cases which are related to the convenience of the user. These will ‘dictate’ the way the future will go. I wouldn’t say that in 2020 specifically we will see any big changes, but we will see a continuity of what’s happening already. And there’s quite a lot happening today."
Gudrun Senk, head of asset development at Wien Energie GmbH, said: "My prediction for 2020 is that we will discuss synthetic methane a lot more. At the moment, we discuss hydrogen as the saviour of tomorrow, but I think by next year, the mindset will change a little bit more. Green gas is not just hydrogen, but methane too, and we have to look more closely at how we are going to integrate it into our energy systems."
Thought leaders from around the globe shared insights into what the market is thinking, feeling, and most importantly - what will be most important as we move to a climate-neutral society:
"We're getting to the inflexion point where the utilities are going to start to have the courage to make change... ...it's not as complicated or as daunting as it might seem " - Anja Langer Jacquin, Chief Commercial Officer: DEPsys
"We're looking at social inequity becoming a bigger part of the discussion, especially when we're talking about smart cities" - Itai Dadon, Director-Smart Cities: Itron
"Much more clarity on the connection between system operation and market operation... I think it's the missing link" - Luís Vale Cunha, Director for European Affairs: EDP Distribuição & Future Networks
"Now we need to bridge the gap between the technology, the decisions and the citizens" - Roland Tual, Project Manager: REScoop.eu
