Meeting the rise in global demand of electricity will mean adding a 1 GW power plant and all related infrastructure every week for the next 20 years.
The International Energy Agency estimates that between now and 2030, global investments in electrical grid infrastructure of around $6 trillion will be needed to satisfy the world's increasing demand for power. Most of the growth is expected in Asia with the construction of new transmission and distribution systems, but new investments will also be needed in the United States and Europe where aging systems must be replaced.
To ensure that grid's capacity is used as effectively as possible, reserve capacity, which is needed to balance fluctuations in demand and supply, will be minimized and larger cross-country grids with high-capacity connections will be required. Small-scale power generation to serve local needs will be more widely established to support central power generation plants.
The trend to replace conventional motor vehicles with fully electrical models is accelerating, bringing with it the need for infrastructure to charge potentially millions of car batteries. This will not only contribute to the overall growth in demand for electricity but will also put higher demands on the electrical system. The infrastructure required to supply electric cars with electricity will be an integral part of the future electric system. Various estimates have been made about the number of electrical cars that will require charging facilities. In 2020, the number of electric cars could reach 40 million according to estimates of Boston Consulting and other parties. Most of the currently available low voltage systems are not suitable for charging electric vehicles and so new infrastructure for both fast- and slow charging facilities will be needed.