World energy resources and consumption
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World energy supply and consumption refers to the global supply of energy resources and its consumption. The system of global energy supply consists of the energy development, refinement, and trade of energy. Energy supplies may exist in various forms such as ''raw resources'' or ''more processed and refined'' forms of energy. The raw energy resources include for example
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
, unprocessed oil and gas,
uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
. In comparison, the refined forms of energy include for example refined oil that becomes
fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...
and
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
. Energy resources may be used in various different ways, depending on the specific resource (e.g. coal), and intended end use (industrial, residential, etc.). Energy production and consumption play a significant role in the
global economy The world economy or global economy is the economy of all humans in the world, referring to the global economic system, which includes all economic activities conducted both within and between nations, including production, consumption, econ ...
. It is needed in industry and global
transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
. The total energy supply chain, from production to final consumption, involves many activities that cause a loss of useful energy. As of 2022, energy consumption is still about 80% from fossil fuels. The Gulf States and
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
are major energy exporters. Their customers include for example the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, who are not producing enough energy in their own countries to satisfy their energy demand. Total energy consumption tends to increase by about 1–2% per year. More recently,
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
has been growing rapidly, averaging about 20% increase per year in the 2010s. Two key problems with energy production and consumption are
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...
and environmental pollution. Of about 50 billion tonnes worldwide annual total greenhouse gas emissions, 36 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide was a result of energy use (almost all from fossil fuels) in 2021. Many scenarios have been envisioned to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, usually by the name of net zero emissions. There is a clear connection between energy consumption per capita, and GDP per capita. A significant lack of energy supplies is called an energy crisis.


Primary energy production

Primary energy refers to the first form of energy encountered, as raw resources collected directly from energy production, before any conversion or transformation of the energy occurs. Energy production is usually classified as: * Fossil, using
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
,
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...
, and
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
; * Nuclear, using
uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
; * Renewable, using
biomass Biomass is a term used in several contexts: in the context of ecology it means living organisms, and in the context of bioenergy it means matter from recently living (but now dead) organisms. In the latter context, there are variations in how ...
, geothermal,
hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...
, solar,
wind Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...
, tidal,
wave In physics, mathematics, engineering, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from List of types of equilibrium, equilibrium) of one or more quantities. ''Periodic waves'' oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium ...
, among others. Primary energy assessment by IEA follows certain rulesIEA Primary energy assessment: * Fossil: based on lower heating value. * Nuclear: heat produced by nuclear reactions, 3 times the electric energy, based on 33% efficiency of nuclear plants. * Renewable: ** Biomass based on lower heating value. ** Electric energy produced by
hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...
, wind turbines and solar panels. **
Geothermal power Geothermal power is electricity generation, electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation i ...
is set at more than 10 times the electric energy due to the very low efficiency of these plants. Se

, chapter 7
to ease measurement of different kinds of energy. These rules are controversial. Water and air flow energy that drives hydro and wind turbines, and sunlight that powers solar panels, are not taken as PE, which is set at the electric energy produced. But fossil and nuclear energy are set at the reaction heat, which is about three times the electric energy. This measurement difference can lead to underestimating the economic contribution of renewable energy. Enerdata displays data for "Total energy / production: Coal, Oil, Gas, Biomass, Heat and Electricity" and for "Renewables / % in electricity production: Renewables, non-renewables". The table lists worldwide PE and the countries producing most (76%) of that in 2021, using Enerdata. The amounts are rounded and given in million tonnes of oil equivalent per year (1 Mtoe = 11.63 TWh (41.9 Joule#Multiples, petajoules), where 1 TWh = 109 kWh) and % of Total. Renewable is Biomass plus Heat plus renewable percentage of Electricity production (hydro, wind, solar). Nuclear is nonrenewable percentage of Electricity production. The above-mentioned underestimation of hydro, wind and solar energy, compared to nuclear and fossil energy, applies also to Enerdata. The 2021 world total energy production of 14,800 MToe corresponds to a little over 172 PWh / year, or about 19.6 TW of power generation.


Energy conversion

Energy resources must be processed in order to make it suitable for final consumption. For example, there may be various impurities in raw coal mined or raw natural gas that was produced from an oil well that may make it unsuitable to be burned in a power plant. Primary energy is converted in many ways to energy carriers, also known as secondary energy: * Coal mainly goes to thermal power stations. Coke is derived by destructive distillation of bituminous coal. * Crude oil goes mainly to oil refineries * Natural-gas goes to
natural-gas processing Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
plants to remove contaminants such as water, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, and to adjust the heating value. It is used as fuel gas, also in thermal power stations. * Nuclear reaction heat is used in thermal power stations. *
Biomass Biomass is a term used in several contexts: in the context of ecology it means living organisms, and in the context of bioenergy it means matter from recently living (but now dead) organisms. In the latter context, there are variations in how ...
is used directly or converted to
biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...
. Electricity generators are driven by
steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
or
gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...
s in a thermal plant, or water turbines in a
hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...
station, or
wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...
s, usually in a
wind farm A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...
. The invention of the
solar cell A solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell (PV cell), is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect.
in 1954 started electricity generation by solar panels, connected to a power inverter. Mass production of panels around the year 2000 made this economic.


Energy trade

Much primary and converted energy is traded among countries. The table lists countries with large difference of export and import in 2021, expressed in Mtoe. A negative value indicates that much energy import is needed for the economy. Russian gas exports were reduced a lot in 2022, as pipelines to Asia plus LNG export capacity is much less than the gas no longer sent to Europe. Transport of energy carriers is done by tanker ship,
tank truck A tank truck, gas truck, fuel truck, or tanker truck (American English) or tanker (British English) is a motor vehicle designed to carry liquids or gases on roads. The largest such vehicles are similar to railroad tank cars, which are also desi ...
,
LNG carrier An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). Overview The first oceangoing liquified natural gas tanker in the world was '' Methane Pioneer'', which entered service in 1959 with a carrying capacity of ...
,
rail freight transport Rail freight transport is the use of railways and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled b ...
,
pipeline A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...
and by
electric power transmission Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is ...
.


Total energy supply

''Total energy supply'' (TES) indicates the sum of production and imports subtracting exports and storage changes. For the whole world TES nearly equals primary energy PE because imports and exports cancel out, but for countries TES and PE differ in quantity, and also in quality as secondary energy is involved, e.g., import of an oil refinery product. TES is all energy required to supply energy for end users. The tables list TES and PE for some countries where these differ much, both in 2021 and TES history. Most growth of TES since 1990 occurred in Asia. The amounts are rounded and given in Mtoe. Enerdata labels TES as Total energy consumption. 25% of worldwide primary production is used for conversion and transport, and 6% for non-energy products like lubricants, asphalt and petrochemicals. In 2019 TES was 606 EJ and final consumption was 418 EJ, 69% of TES. Most of the energy lost by conversion occurs in thermal electricity plants and the energy industry own use.


Discussion about energy loss

There are different qualities of energy. Heat, especially at a relatively low temperature, is low-quality energy of random motion, whereas electricity is high-quality energy that flows smoothly through wires. It takes around 3 kWh of heat to produce 1 kWh of electricity. But by the same token, a kilowatt-hour of this high-quality electricity can be used to pump several kilowatt-hours of heat into a building using a heat pump. It turns out that the loss of useful energy incurred in thermal electricity plants is very much more than the loss due to, say, resistance in power lines, because of quality differences. Electricity can also be used in many ways in which heat cannot. In fact, the loss in thermal plants is due to poor conversion of chemical energy of fuel to motion by combustion. Otherwise chemical energy of fuel is not inherently low-quality; for example, conversion of chemical energy to electricity in batteries can approach 100%. So energy loss in thermal plants is real loss.


Final consumption

''Total final consumption'' (TFC) is the worldwide consumption of energy by end-users (whereas primary energy consumption (Eurostat) or total energy supply (IEA) is total energy demand and thus also includes what the energy sector uses itself and transformation and distribution losses). This energy consists of fuel (78%) and electricity (22%). The tables list amounts, expressed in million tonnes of oil equivalent per year (1 Mtoe = 11.63 TWh) and how much of these is renewable energy. Non-energy products are not considered here. The data are of 2018.Data and Statistics.
2018. International Energy Agency.
The world's renewable share of TFC was 18% in 2018: 7% traditional biomass, 3.6% hydropower and 7.4% other renewables. In the period 2005–2017 worldwide final consumption of coal increased by 23%, of oil and gas increased by 18%, and that of electricity increased by 41%. Fuel comes in three types: Fossil fuel is natural gas, fuel derived from petroleum (LPG, gasoline, kerosene, gas/diesel, fuel oil), or from coal (anthracite, bituminous coal, coke, blast furnace gas). Secondly, there is renewable fuel (
biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...
and fuel derived from waste). And lastly, the fuel used for
district heating District heating (also known as heat networks) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heater, space heating and w ...
. The amounts of fuel in the tables are based on lower heating value. The first table lists final consumption in the countries/regions which use most (85%), and per person as of 2018. In developing countries fuel consumption per person is low and more renewable. Canada, Venezuela and Brazil generate most electricity with hydropower. The next table shows countries consuming most (85%) in Europe.


Energy for energy

Some fuel and electricity is used to construct, maintain and demolish/recycle installations that produce fuel and electricity, such as oil platforms, uranium isotope separators and wind turbines. For these producers to be economical the ''ratio of energy returned on energy invested'' (EROEI) or ''energy return on investment'' (EROI) should be large enough. If the final energy delivered for consumption is E and the EROI equals R, then the net energy available is E-E/R. The percentage available energy is 100-100/R. For R>10 more than 90% is available but for R=2 only 50% and for R=1 none. This steep decline is known as the ''net energy cliff''.


Availability of data

Many countries publish statistics on the energy supply and consumption of either their own country, of other countries of interest, or of all countries combined in one chart. One of the largest organizations in this field, the
International Energy Agency The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization, established in 1974, that provides policy recommendations, analysis and data on the global energy sector. The 31 member countries and 13 associatio ...
(IEA), sells yearly comprehensive energy data which makes this data
paywall A paywall is a method of restricting access to content (media), content, with a purchase or a subscription business model, paid subscription, especially news. Beginning in the mid-2010s, newspapers started implementing paywalls on their website ...
ed and difficult to access for internet users. The organization Enerdata on the other hand publishes a free Yearbook, making the data more accessible. Another trustworthy organization that provides accurate energy data, mainly referring to the USA, is the U.S. Energy Information Administration.


Trends and outlook

Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, there was a significant decline in energy usage worldwide in 2020, but total energy demand worldwide had recovered by 2021, and has hit a record high in 2022. In 2022, consumers worldwide spent nearly USD 10 trillion on energy, averaging more than USD 1,200 per person. This reflects a 20% increase over the previous five-year average, highlighting the significant economic impact and the increasing financial burden of energy consumption on a global scale.


IEA scenarios

In World Energy Outlook 2023 the IEA notes that "We are on track to see all fossil fuels peak before 2030"''.''https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2023 Download pdf The IEA presents three scenarios: # The ''Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS)'' provides an outlook based on the latest policy settings. The share of fossil fuel in global energy supply – stuck for decades around 80% – starts to edge downwards and reaches 73% by 2030. This undercuts the rationale for any increase in fossil fuel investment. Renewables are set to contribute 80% of new power capacity to 2030, with solar PV alone accounting for more than half. The STEPS sees a peak in energy-related CO2 emissions in the mid-2020s but emissions remain high enough to push up global average temperatures to around 2.4 °C in 2100. Total energy demand continues to increase through to 2050. Total energy investment remains at about US$3 trillion per year. # The ''Announced Pledges Scenario (APS)'' assumes all national energy and climate targets made by governments are met in full and on time. The APS is associated with a temperature rise of 1.7 °C in 2100 (with a 50% probability). Total energy investment rises to about US$4 trillion per year after 2030. # The ''Net Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE) Scenario'' limits global warming to 1.5 °C. The share of fossil fuel reaches 62% in 2030. Methane emissions from fossil fuel supply cuts by 75% in 2030. Total energy investment rises to almost US$5 trillion per year after 2030. Clean energy investment needs to rise everywhere, but the steepest increases are needed in emerging market and developing economies other than China, requiring enhanced international support. The share of electricity in final consumption exceeds 50% by 2050 in NZE. The share of nuclear power in electricity generation remains broadly stable over time in all scenarios, about 9%. The IEA's "Electricity 2024" report details a 2.2% growth in global electricity demand for 2023, forecasting an annual increase of 3.4% through 2026, with notable contributions from emerging economies like
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, despite a slump in advanced economies due to economic and inflationary pressures. The report underscores the significant impact of data centers,
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
and
cryptocurrency A cryptocurrency (colloquially crypto) is a digital currency designed to work through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. Individual coin ownership record ...
, projecting a potential doubling of electricity consumption to 1,000 TWh by 2026, which is on par with Japan's current usage. Notably, 85% of the additional demand is expected to originate from China and India, with India's demand alone predicted to grow over 6% annually until 2026, driven by economic expansion and increasing air conditioning use. Southeast Asia's electricity demand is also forecasted to climb by 5% annually through 2026. In the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, a decrease was seen in 2023, but a moderate rise is anticipated in the coming years, largely fueled by data centers. The report also anticipates that a surge in electricity generation from low-emissions sources will meet the global demand growth over the next three years, with renewable energy sources predicted to surpass coal by early 2025. Text was copied from this source, which is available under
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
/ref>


Alternative scenarios

The goal set in the
Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...
to limit climate change will be difficult to achieve. Various scenarios for achieving the Paris Climate Agreement Goals have been developed, using IEA data but proposing transition to nearly 100% renewables by mid-century, along with steps such as reforestation. Nuclear power and carbon capture are excluded in these scenarios. The researchers say the costs will be far less than the $5 trillion per year governments currently spend subsidizing the fossil fuel industries responsible for climate change. In the ''+2.0 C (global warming) Scenario'' total primary energy demand in 2040 can be 450 EJ = 10,755 Mtoe, or 400 EJ = 9560 Mtoe in the ''+1.5 Scenario'', well below the current production. Renewable sources can increase their share to 300 EJ in the ''+2.0 C Scenario'' or 330 EJ in the ''+1.5 Scenario'' in 2040. In 2050 renewables can cover nearly all energy demand. Non-energy consumption will still include fossil fuels. Global electricity generation from renewable energy sources will reach 88% by 2040 and 100% by 2050 in the alternative scenarios. "New" renewables—mainly wind, solar and geothermal energy—will contribute 83% of the total electricity generated. The average annual investment required between 2015 and 2050, including costs for additional power plants to produce hydrogen and synthetic fuels and for plant replacement, will be around $1.4 trillion. Shifts from domestic aviation to rail and from road to rail are needed. Passenger car use must decrease in the
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
countries (but increase in developing world regions) after 2020. The passenger car use decline will be partly compensated by strong increase in public transport rail and bus systems. CO2 emission can reduce from 32 Gt in 2015 to 7 Gt (+2.0 Scenario) or 2.7 Gt (+1.5 Scenario) in 2040, and to zero in 2050.


See also

* * * * * * * ;Lists * List of countries by energy intensity * List of countries by electricity consumption * List of countries by electricity production * List of countries by energy consumption per capita *
List of countries by greenhouse gas emissions This is a list of sovereign states and territories by greenhouse gas emissions due to certain forms of human activity, based on thEDGAR databasecreated by European Commission. The following table lists the 1970, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, 2021 ...
* List of countries by energy consumption and production


Notes


References


External links


Enerdata
- World Energy & Climate Statistics
International Energy Outlook
by the U.S. Energy Information Administration
World Energy Outlook from the IEA
{{climate change Energy policy Energy economics Energy by region Energy consumption Human ecology Global environmental issues World Energy production