
As the industry moves into the new calendar year, Eric Packer, the senior vice president of strategic initiatives at electrical distribution leader Rexel USA, provides his thoughts on what 2025 might have in store.
Electrification
Rexel believes commercial electrification initiatives will remain resilient, with companies and organizations striving to honor their carbon reduction goals. Existing legislation is in place that will be tested. Our industry is aligned and focused on moving electrification projects along quickly and making sure capital is utilized so that we can build out EV charging infrastructure and more residential solar battery storage, as examples.
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure
We expect continued growth with EVs in both consumer and fleet segments. At this time, there is uncertainty whether existing incentives for national infrastructure expansion, particularly the addition of public EV charging stations, will be retained, changed or eliminated. However, we expect a continuation of EV charging station installations in commercial retail and office space as organizations aspire to achieve ESG goals.
PV Renewable
Our outlook remains positive for PV and energy storage systems. Stored solar energy enables the allocation of energy on demand instead of only being able to have energy when the sun is up, which has been a limiting factor. We continue to see interest and investments in microgrids, which harness solar energy and reapply it back to the grid at peak demand times or as needed from demand. Enterprise ESG initiatives are a strong driver in this segment.
Residential Solar
The outlook for residential solar in 2025 is generally positive, with growth expected to continue due to factors such as rising electricity costs and technological advancements; however, the future is uncertain for federal incentives, state rebates and grants. The x factor of concern will be manufacturing and supply. Domestic production may play a limiting factor for product availability as imports will potentially face additional tariffs in the future.
Residential Construction
We believe that residential construction will continue to improve next year, which will translate to improved sales of electrical components used in new home construction. Analysts expect construction companies and manufacturers to share in the nationwide economic upsurge. All indicators seem to point towards a decline in both interest rates and inflation—two economic forces that have drained home construction profits in recent times.
Data Centers
The opportunity for our industry in the data center space is tremendous. With the acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI), ultramodern data centers require an ultra-high-density foundation, optimizing space and presenting the ideal solution for companies aiming to scale their AI infrastructure efficiently and effectively. Additionally, the incredible growth demand for data centers and issues of power availability are leading data center providers to explore microgrids and nuclear Small Modular Reactors.