When it comes to power production, it’s easy to look back at 2023. Motus Group had an exceptional year, which means our customers and partners also had a lot of wins. We are fielding more requests for parts, repairs, retrofits, and other services for industrial sites all over North America. Many of our partners saw a lot of changes as the demand for renewable energy sources, spurred on by the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, brings a lot of opportunity to consider in the coming years. Mostly, how do we merge traditional power production with the modern demands?
Some other trends and predictions we’re interested in seeing turn out:
We want more power. Not us, specifically, but the world at large. Economist Intelligence predicts global energy consumption to rise by 1.8% in 2024 with most of the demand coming from Asia. On a consumer level here in the States, we think this likely comes from more EVs hitting the roadways, increasing the demand for things like high-output chargers and battery production. In the US, depending on which metrics you take into account, we could see a tripling of electricity demand as new homes are built with more advanced technologies.
Loads of AI, automation, machine learning, and other efficiency measures that increase demand for improved software infrastructure. With that comes demands for specialized technicians and continuing education to ensure everyone knows how to play nice with our robot overlords. As much as we look forward to having AI supplements to our software, on a larger scale it is worth noting the power consumption of AI computing. While the programs are improving and creating more output with less power, the widespread use of AI in every industry could present power issues.
This implementation of AI and automation will further infiltrate the consumer market as we see an expansion of the Internet of Things and connected homes. Think: thermostats that automatically adjust based on regional demand or cars that only charge at night when there is less electricity consumption.
Speaking of education: we’re predicting a broader move to educate the public about energy. A lot of what comes next, whatever it may be, will likely come from the policy changes, new laws, regulations, and subsidies for building out new infrastructure. All of the above require significant investment which means the industry needs to improve how the public is educated about why this stuff is so important. John Q Public only wants to talk about improving the power grid right after a storm blows through and leaves them in the dark for a few weeks. From production to distribution to emissions management, moving forward means learning how to paint a better picture of what’s possible.
When it comes to these storms, there will be many of them across the country that will test the mettle of the current grid. Not just downed power lines, but producers needing to learn to scale their output to account for increased demand for heating and cooling. As freshwater becomes more of a premium, industrial facilities. are also looking at ways to better recycle internal hydrocooling systems. (link)
There is always something new coming our way and we never really know what the future holds in store for us. This is why we at Motus Group are always pushing for flexible and adaptable solutions for companies all across heavy industry. The best thing we can suggest is that you shore up your systems and processes so they are easy to manage for today while remaining flexible enough to take on the challenges that come our way tomorrow.
Give us a call. We’d love to design your next solution.