FRAMINGHAM, MA – Smart grid spending will increase 17.4% globally on a compounded basis from 2010 to 2015 while overall spending will reach nearly $46.4 billion worldwide in 2015.

The Asia-Pacific region is forecast to experience the most growth in spending with a five-year CAGR of 33.7%, says IDC.

The report identified 14 smart grid project types, noting that differences in regional investment profiles are stark in some cases, driven by differences in government mandates, environmental regulations and private sector support.

According to the report, in North America, IDC found widely deployed advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and smart meter investment leading to high expectations for demand response for 2014. In the same period, North America distribution automation investments will concentrate on feeder automation, volt/var optimization, and automated fault restoration. In Europe and Asia Pacific regions, smart meters and AMI investments carry the sector's growth forward as major project deployments begin later in the forecast period as Europe eyes its 20-20-20 goals (20% increase in energy efficiency, 20% reduction of CO₂ emissions, and 20% renewable generation sources by 2020). In Asia Pacific, the smart metering torch is being carried by China with a goal of deploying 300 million smart meters by 2020.