San Diego, Calif. -- Global development of energy infrastructure offers the highest growth prospects for providers of environmental products and services, with water and transportation a clear second and third, Environmental Business Journal (EBJ) reports in its first-ever issue dedicated to infrastructure markets.
Energy infrastructure is the healthiest of five infrastructure segments reviewed by EBJ, with almost 90% of survey respondents rating its prospects for growth as good, strong, or very strong. Coal-fired power dominates in China, India, southeast Asia and South Africa. However, strides in renewable energy development worldwide are also giving rise to an exploding market for services supporting the build-out of generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure.
Executives interviewed for this edition affirmed the strength of power transmission market in the United States, reporting not only pent-up demand due to the need to upgrade the aging national grid, but also strong demand for connecting new renewable resources to the grid.
"Power markets appear to have the most promise for environmental firms, and global prospects are good, although volatility in policy and source mix make power a challenging business for consulting engineers, equipment suppliers and other service providers," said EBJ Senior Editor George Stubbs. "By contrast, the water/wastewater and transportation infrastructure markets-particularly in the United States-suffer from funding shortfalls in spite of a substantial need for expansion and upgrade."
Infrastructure markets are an important business for environmental firms, with three quarters of survey respondents indicating that they have worked in water and energy. Asked which infrastructure market they believe is the most promising in the next decade, 28% said water, followed by 13% for energy and 13% for roads & bridges.
In this edition, EBJ looks at energy, water, communications, transportation, and waste recycling, with a special emphasis on power, ports, and transportation. (A dedicated water edition will be published in November 2011.)
