A majority of executives in the utility, smart grid and energy sectors believe that investments in smart grid technology will continue to grow through 2012 because they say such a technology is what governments around the world need as they are struggling to generate electricity without causing further harm to the environment.

This is the outcome of a survey conducted by energy consulting firm Zpryme.

In the United States, the executives said, the federal government’s stimulus program was vital to keep up the growth rate in the smart grid sector. In the survey, eight out of ten executives expressed confidence in the growth of investments.

Zpryme estimates that more than 52 million smart meters will be installed in the U.S. by the end of 2012.

“Utility investments will increase because smart grid technology is the only rational long term strategy to manage the complex requirements of renewables integration, government regulation, emissions requirements, and increased stakeholder demands, all while maintaining the reliability and predictability that customers, employees and investors expect,” said Phil Davis, senior manager at Schneider Electric (News - Alert) Demand Response Resource Center.

Zpryme said it surveyed 312 executives in the U.S. energy, smart grid and utility space on their overall 2012 smart grid sentiment.

Over half of executives seemed confident of seeing “moderate growth” of the technology in the United States in 2012, while almost 1 out of 3 suggested “strong growth”.

A similar survey conducted by Microsoft (News - Alert) and OSIsoft showed about 63 percent of respondents expecting their budgets for smart grid technologies to increase over the next two or three years.

In the Zpryme survey, almost 9 out of 10 executives said they believed federal government support (grants, loans or subsidies) was “very important” to the development of the smart grid.

With federal stimulus funding nearing an end, executives are telling utilities to prepare solid business cases to support further innovation in the smart grid technology sector.

Zpryme’s CEO Jason S. Rodriguez has asked private sectors to increase their investment for future growth of the technology.

The federal government kick-started the smart grid sector last year, but 2012 should focus on innovating industry segments such as energy storage, security, cloud based network software and analytics, said analysts.