Clean energy has been growing in leaps and bounds in recent times. And according to projections, the industry is set to develop even more in 2019. The following are the projected trends expected to be seen in the energy sector this year 2019 by Forbes and the Open Energy Market.

Energy management: the market for clean energy has been on a steady incline and this has led to an increased demand for it. Couple this with the fact that technological advancements has rendered it profitable. Many sectors including the manufacturing and industrial sectors now see the benefit attached to using clean energy and are starting shift their focus to it. With this increased demand comes a need for better ways of managing energy. In 2019, there is bound to be a joint effort by the above named sectors with other sectors to create standards for managing and reporting energy.

Energy storage: the increase in demand for energy creates a need for better and more efficient ways of storing energy. This is so that power supply does not cease for any reason whatsoever whether time or weather. This necessitates the research and development of better ways of storing energy this year.

Blockchain networks: blockchain is a digital technology used for transactions. It makes use of a peer-to-peer network which allows people to conduct direct transactions. A peer-to-peer network eliminates the need for middlemen in transactions and in this case, it eliminates the need for electricity suppliers and allows electricity consumers to purchase and sell directly among themselves. This technology is seeing increased incorporation in the energy industry and this is only expected to increase in the year 2019. Some of the benefits it provides are the ability for consumers to autonomously purchase (and sell) energy when required, optimize their energy consumption in real time as well as observe and analyse the energy consumption trends and patterns of their devices.

Energy technology: for some time now, innovations have been ongoing that are changing the energy landscape and this is bound to increase in 2019. As the demand for energy increases, so does the need of technology suitable for procuring, managing and storing this energy. And with the aforementioned innovations taking place, we are bound to see a diversification of the technology used in the energy sector. Technological advancements will occur which will help make the energy industry even better than it has ever been. For instance, micro grids and artificial intelligence are already being adapted by companies to produce more timely and efficient energy.

Grid parity: yet another trend you can expect to see in the energy sector this year is grid parity. Currently, solar energy has attained price and performance parity in some places around the world. This means that electric power generated through this means costs the same as, or even lesser than that generated via conventional methods. With this, we can expect to see a shift of clean energy sources from being just acceptable to being the preferred means of energy generation due to their cost effectiveness and many other benefits.