Distributed Energy market has softened, smaller Niche market remains promising. (News).

PALO ALTO, CA--Fewer industrial and commercial businesses express interest in adopting onsite electric generators this year, according to a study by Primen, a Boulder-based energy market intelligence company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).

The study, "Releasing the Potential for Distributed Energy," reveals that the North American market for distributed generation looks substantially different than it did just one year ago. Among the 600 large businesses in the U.S. and Canada that participated in Primen's most recent study, just 2% are strong prospects for grid-alternative onsite generators. A study the previous year showed that 15% of businesses in this group were strong candidates.

"We think the market softened for a number of reasons, including that 'senior management simply isn't paying as much attention to energy use now," says Nicholas Lenssen, senior research director of Primen's Distributed Energy Strategic Service.

Lenssen points out that "Electricity prices stabilized, and 2001's rolling blackouts did not continue or expand beyond California." This led managers to turn their attention elsewhere. "With the economic slowdown, capital spending is constrained and other issues are more top-of-mind for managers," reports Lenssen.

Lead author and analyst of the study. Shawn MeNulty, PhD, a research director with Primen reports that the survey data alst show, however, that a small population of companies are still very concerned about energy and are very knowledgeable. "These are the strong prospects," states McNulty.

"We estimate that there are 1700 large establishments in the U.S. and Canada, representing 1.6 gigawatts of load, that are strong near-tern prospects," notes McNulty. "We found that these companies are more sophisticated energy buyers in general and know more about distributed energy options than most businesses."

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