Trend · rank 131 of 250

Grid expansion & demand flexibility

Electrification and new generation locations require more transmission, distribution and interconnection, while smart metering and responsive tariffs shift consumption, making network build-out and flexibility central constraints on energy and industrial development.

Strategic InfrastructureEnergy, networks & climate resiliencepowerclean energyconnectivity

Second pass: Carried forward from the first pass, where it was Demand flexibility & smart metering; takes in Grid enhancement. Held by all three panel models.

Sensitivity and network position

Rank
131of 250
Sensitivity
10.0rank 102
Breadth
2of 20 scenarios High or above
PageRank
35.5rank 119
Eigenvector
1.5
Betweenness
6.5
Links
15trends at Moderate similarity or above
Composite
19.7

Attention over three years

How much this trend is read about on Wikipedia and searched for on Google, week by week, set against the typical trend in the list so that what moves every trend at once is taken out. 100 is this trend's own three-year average. The score measures public attention, which is not the same as the strength of the force: a trend can deepen unnoticed, and a news event can lift attention for a fortnight.

Now
92
Over a year
+7%Steady
Over three years
−24%
Peak
15027 Apr 2025
Sources
Bothagreement 0.77
Coverage
20languages · 52 nations

Trailing 4-week average. 100 is this trend’s three-year average.

By language

Wikipedia reading in each language edition where the trend’s pages are read enough to measure (20 of 28). Share is of all the readers counted.

LanguageShareNowOver a yearThree years
English51%89+1%
German15%110+14%
French5%80−2%
Spanish4%90−1%
Russian4%98+14%
Japanese4%95+3%
Chinese3%96−14%
Korean2%82−26%
Italian2%87−14%
Arabic2%104+6%
Polish1%93+1%
Persian1%53−48%
Portuguese1%96+3%
Ukrainian1%72−10%
Dutch1%104+0%
Swedish1%83−26%
Turkish0%810%
Indonesian0%111+44%
Thai0%95+25%
Vietnamese0%84−6%

By country

Google search interest over the three years, as a share of each country’s searching. 100 is the nation where interest is highest. The search terms are English, which favours countries that search in English.

United Kingdom

Austria

Ireland

India

Australia

Singapore

Germany

Kenya

South Korea

United States

New Zealand

South Africa

100

96

73

58

48

43

39

38

35

34

31

26

The 12 highest of 52 nations with a reading.

By region and G20 member

Attention to this trend inside each place, from Google searches made in its countries and Wikipedia reading in the languages mostly read there, averaged where both exist. Each line compares the trend with its own past in that place; the lines do not compare places.

Regions

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
North AmericaGoogle in 2 countries + Wikipedia in English106+19%+23%−4%
EuropeGoogle in 9 countries + Wikipedia in German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch, Swedish103+3%+6%−5%
Indo-PacificGoogle in 11 countries + Wikipedia in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai106−5%+13%−2%
South AsiaGoogle in 3 countries86−1%−8%−26%
Gulf and Middle EastGoogle in 5 countries + Wikipedia in Persian, Arabic, Turkish114+4%+28%+9%
AfricaGoogle in 3 countries145+34%+50%+74%
Latin America and CaribbeanGoogle in 6 countries + Wikipedia in Spanish, Portuguese125−3%+37%+36%
Russia and EurasiaWikipedia in Russian, Ukrainian90+7%+8%−27%

G20 members

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
ArgentinaGoogle332+72%+604%+1242%
AustraliaGoogle121+17%+18%+16%
BrazilGoogle + Wikipedia in Portuguese102+13%+5%−14%
CanadaGoogle120+29%+24%+25%
FranceGoogle + Wikipedia in French97−6%+7%−18%
GermanyGoogle + Wikipedia in German102+3%−4%+0%
IndiaGoogle67+1%−15%−53%
IndonesiaGoogle + Wikipedia in Indonesian105+9%+33%−41%
ItalyGoogle + Wikipedia in Italian102+8%+0%+4%
JapanGoogle + Wikipedia in Japanese100−0%+5%−2%
South KoreaGoogle + Wikipedia in Korean99−12%−7%+2%
MexicoGoogle131−47%+39%+80%
RussiaWikipedia in Russian98+15%+14%−18%
Saudi ArabiaGoogle90+16%−22%−4%
South AfricaGoogle184+88%+70%+94%
TürkiyeGoogle + Wikipedia in Turkish107−14%+41%+24%
United KingdomGoogle53−10%−47%−68%
United StatesGoogle + Wikipedia in English107+20%+27%−5%

Relation to each scenario

A trend relates to a scenario when it changes how likely the scenario is, how hard it lands, or is itself sharply changed by it. Each score is the median of three scores given separately by the members of the model panel.

RelationScenarioFamily
5 · Very highCheap firm clean power becomes available at scale S15 ↗Energy, climate and resources
4 · HighHybrid coercion ends in an infrastructure blackout S04Geopolitical and security
3 · ModerateA major disaster disables the national economic core S07Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedCritical trade divides into rival blocs S01Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA global funding seizure reaches sovereign balance sheets S02Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA regional war closes a globally important sea route S03Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedA disputed transfer of power breaks effective government S05Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedTwo breadbasket failures trigger a food availability crisis S06Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedAn AI deployment step causes abrupt labour displacement S08Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA cryptographic breakthrough invalidates digital trust S09Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA novel respiratory pathogen exceeds health surge capacity S10Health
0 · Not relatedA creditor agreement releases fiscal capacity S11 ↗Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA cross-regional market access compact redirects investment S12 ↗Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA great-power agreement lowers economic security barriers S13 ↗Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedA verified Middle East settlement restores access S14 ↗Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedA validated farming package raises water-efficient output S16 ↗Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedAI-directed research produces a reproducible discovery step S17 ↗Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA public service platform reaches inclusive operation S18 ↗Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedAffordable preventive treatments reduce chronic illness S19 ↗Health
0 · Not relatedA live outbreak proves rapid distributed pandemic defence S20 ↗Health

Similarity = 0.3 × shared tags (Jaccard) + 0.3 × likeness of scenario profiles (cosine) + 0.3 × likeness of names and descriptions (TF-IDF cosine) + 0.1 if in the same capability domain, cut into seven levels at 0.12, 0.22, 0.33, 0.45, 0.58, 0.72. Shown at Moderate and above.

SimilarityTrendThemeRank
4 · HighElectrification of heat & industryEnergy, networks & climate resilience70
4 · HighDistributed powerEnergy, networks & climate resilience81
4 · HighFirm & black-start capacityEnergy, networks & climate resilience119
4 · HighRenewable generation expansionEnergy, networks & climate resilience128
4 · HighReliable energy access gapsEnergy, networks & climate resilience197
3 · ModerateTelecom network resilienceEnergy, networks & climate resilience35
3 · ModerateInfrastructure ageing & maintenance backlogEnergy, networks & climate resilience39
3 · ModerateWater treatment & desalinationEnergy, networks & climate resilience89
3 · ModerateData-centre power & water demandEnergy, networks & climate resilience144
3 · ModerateConnected infrastructure operationEnergy, networks & climate resilience145
3 · ModerateSatellite connectivity expansionEnergy, networks & climate resilience167
3 · ModerateAdvanced nuclear fissionTrade, industry & supply chains210
3 · ModerateElectric transport & charging networksEnergy, networks & climate resilience211
3 · ModerateFusion energyTrade, industry & supply chains226
3 · ModerateEnhanced geothermalTrade, industry & supply chains232