The compressed air energy storage (CAES) technology includes storage of energy by compression of air and storing the same in the underground cavern. The power is generated by heating the pressurized air and expansion of the same in a turbine, which drives the generator, leading to the power generation. Since 1870, CAES systems have been deployed to provide effective, on-demand energy for cities and industries. CAES offers the potential for both large- and small- scale, on-site energy storage solutions, as well as larger installations that can provide immense energy reserves for the grid. The first CAES plant of capacity 290 MW was set up in Germany in 1978 and a 110 MW plant commenced operation in Alabama in 1991. The successful operation of these two plants demonstrated the technical viability of CAES technology in supplying ancillary services, load following, and intermediate power generation.

For decades, China’s natural gas sector has been dominated by three state-owned enterprise groups – China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). The three majors together owned up to 84% of the national long-distance gas transmission pipelines at the end of 2017. In response to the government’s call for SOE reform, initiated in the 1990s, the three giants have established their own listed arms, restructured business units for better asset integration, and introduced market entities to participate in oil field management. The Chinese government has also encouraged independent domestic players as well as foreign companies to enter the sector.

The investments in global carbon capture and storage market (henceforth referred to as the market studied, unless specified otherwise) was at USD 1.36 billion during 2018. The investments are expected to be at USD 2.28 billion by 2024, at an estimated CAGR of 9.22% over the forecast period (2019-2024) (henceforth referred to as the forecast period). The growth is largely fuelled by emerging demand for carbon dioxide (CO2) injection technique for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). EOR method is widely being adopted by oil and gas participants to extract oil and gas from mature fields. CO2 is considered to be an excellent displacing agent for EOR techniques, because a large portion of injected CO2 remains in place in depleted reservoirs. Therefore, this method could provide a good option for CO2 sequestration, in order to mitigate global warming.

The coal mining industry in China has been undergoing an intense consolidation process, which has resulted in a decreasing number of small inefficient businesses and a growing number of large coal enterprises. Due to their extensive scale of operations and big market shares, SOEs are the sector’s main revenue generators. In 2018, the country’s top ten coal producers generated over 34.6% of the total revenue of coal mining, up from the 27.1% share in 2017. The government’s industry reforms envisage further consolidation of the mining sector, which is likely to intensify the M&A activity. In order to boost their profits along the value chain, coal producers are expected to further expand their presence into segments such as syngas, olefins and liquid fuels, as well as coal-to-oil conversion. They will also work on diversifying their business scope with renewable energy development, power generation and transportation.

Due to technological advancements across different industries, the demand for colocation and managed services is increasing globally. Colocation, managed services, interconnection, and cloud connectivity solutions are offered by data center service providers. The demand for colocation services, therefore, increases the investments in data centers. The construction, however, is carried out with at least 50% of the space pre-leased under development projects. Pre-leasing 80% of the space is also leading to the continuous expansion of projects. While colocating data centers could decrease CAPEX and OPEX, operating through green facilities, the ability to operate high-density IT infrastructure, hybrid infrastructure services, edge locations, and high bandwidth leads to decreased latency. Sectors such as BFSI, cloud service providers, telecommunication service providers, media and entertainment, and government agencies dominate collocating spaces across the globe.

Hydropower was the RES with the highest installed capacity (49.8 GW) in FY2018 – but it is also the one enjoying the lowest growth rates in India. Further, the share of large hydropower installed capacity in total RES installed capacity dropped below 50% for the first time in FY2016 and was around 40% in FY2018. According to the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers, and People (“SANDRP”), India’s hydropower output fell below 10% of total electricity generation in India for the second time in FY2018. Large hydropower in India is considered a conventional energy source and, as such, does not receive incentives like other RES. Small hydropower projects are eligible for some financial incentives, as they fall within the RES category. According to the Centre for Financial Accountability (“CENFA”), the public sector has a dominant share of 92.5% in India’s hydropower sector.

Concentrating solar power utilizes mirror configurations to concentrate the solar light energy onto a receiver. It then converts the heat into energy that can be used further to drive a turbine, produce electrical power, or use in an industrial process. At present, the global Concentrated Solar Power market witnesses’ numerous opportunities, owing to rapid increase in demand for renewable power in Asia-Pacific and MEA to cope up with the increase in electricity demand. The Concentrated Solar Power market is analyzed and estimated in accordance with the impacts of the drivers, restraints, and opportunities. The period studied in this report is 2019–2026.

The level of competition in Ecuador’s oil and gas sector is low, with two state-run companies – Petroamazonas and Petroecuador – dominating the production of natural gas and oil derivatives, and accounting for the bulk of crude oil output (77.5% in 2018). Nevertheless, the participation of private companies is set to increase, given the liberalisation measures of the administration of president Moreno in order to attract private investment in the domestic oil and gas sector. Among these include the reinstatement of production-sharing contracts for oil and gas exploration in July 2018 and the launch of new bidding rounds for oil and gas blocks.