Worldwide energy supply
Worldwide energy supply refers to the global production and preparation of fuel, generation of electricity, and energy transport.
Here contemporary energy supply is outlined. For history see articles on the control of fire, extraction of coal and oil, use of wind- and watermills and sailing ships. Roughly 200 year ago large scale mining of lignite and coal provided much more fuel, enabling the industrial revolution.
.png)
Energy supply is is a vast industry, powering the world economy, with many aspects and impacts. Lists of countries are given where most energy is produced and where it is consumed, distinguishing fossil, nuclear and renewable energy, and referring to many conversions and transport between production and consumption. The lists are kept short to make updates feasible. Lastly the outlook on energy use until 2040 and possible changes in energy policy are summarised.
Energy development and World energy consumption present further division of fossil into coal, oil and gas, and deal with sustainability, environmental impact, resilience, accidents and many more aspects of energy supply. Electric energy consumption focuses on electricity and has also a section on scenarios about future development.
Primary energy production
This is the world-wide production of energy, extracted or captured directly from natural sources. In energy statistics Primary Energy (PE) refers to the first stage where energy enters the supply chain before any further conversion or transformation process.
Energy sources are usually classified as
- fossil, using coal, lignite, petroleum and natural gas,
- nuclear, using uranium,
- renewable, using hydro power, biomass, wind and solar energy, among others.
Primary energy assessment follows certain rules[2] to ease measurement and comparison of different kinds of energy. Due to these rules uranium is not counted as PE but as the natural source of nuclear PE. Similarly water and air flow energy that drives hydro and wind turbines, and sunlight that powers solar panels, are not taken as PE but as PE sources (PES).
The table lists the world-wide PE production and the countries/regions producing most (86%) of that. The Persian Gulf States are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq and Oman, in order of production. The amounts are given in million tonnes of oil equivalent per year (Mtoe/a, 1 Mtoe = 11.63 TWh). The data are of 2013.[3][4]
| Total Mtoe/a | Fossil | Nuclear | Renewable | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WORLD | 13600 | 81% | 5% | 14% |
| China | 2570 | 86% | 1% | 13% |
| United States | 1880 | 80% | 11% | 8% |
| Persian Gulf States | 1742 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Russia | 1316 | 95% | 3% | 2% |
| Africa | 1129 | 65% | 0% | 33% |
| European Union | 793 | 47% | 29% | 26% |
| India | 523 | 59% | 2% | 39% |
| Indonesia | 460 | 84% | 0% | 16% |
| Canada | 435 | 83% | 6% | 11% |
| Brazil | 253 | 51% | 2% | 47% |
| Mexico | 217 | 92% | 1% | 7% |
| Venezuela | 192 | 96% | 0% | 4% |
| Norway | 192 | 93% | 0% | 7% |
Fossil energy production in the world is 36% coal, 38% petroleum and 26% natural gas.
The top producers in Africa are Nigeria (256), S-Africa (166) and Algeria (138).
In the EU France (136, mainly nuclear), Germany (120), UK (110), Poland (71, mainly coal) and Netherlands (69, mainly natural gas) produce most.
From production to final consumption
| Export | Import | |
|---|---|---|
| Persian Gulf States | 1167 | 21 |
| Russia | 620 | 27 |
| Indonesia | 301 | 56 |
| Canada | 263 | 78 |
| Norway | 166 | 8 |
| European Union | 539 | 1451 |
| Japan | 18 | 455 |
| India | 72 | 327 |
| S-Korea | 57 | 291 |
Primary energy is converted in many ways to energy carriers, also known as secondary energy.
- Lignite and coal mainly go to thermal power stations. Coke is derived by destructive distillation of bituminous coal.
- Petroleum goes mainly to oil refineries and is also used to make coke.
- Natural-gas goes to natural-gas processing plants to remove contaminants such as water, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, and mixed 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 is used directly or converted to biofuel.
Electricity generators are driven by
- Steam or gas turbines in a thermal plant,
- or water turbines in a hydropower station,
- or wind turbines, stand-alone or in a wind farm.
The invention of the PV cell in 1954 started electricity generation by solar panels, connected to a power inverter. Around 2000 mass production of panels made this economical.
Primary and converted energy is much traded among countries. The tabel lists countries/regions that export most of their energy, followed by countries that must import much for their economies. The quantities are expressed in Mtoe/a and the data are of 2013.[3]
Big transport goes by tanker ship, tank truck, LNG carrier, rail freight transport, pipeline and by electric power transmission.
Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES) is a term used to indicate the sum of production and imports subtracting exports and storage changes.[5] For the whole world TPES nearly equals primary energy PE but for countries TPES and PE differ in quantity and quality. Usually secondary energy is involved, e.g., import of an oil refinery product, so TPES is often not PE. P in TPES has not the same meaning as in PE. It refers to energy needed as input to produce some or all energy for end-users.
32% of primary production is used for conversion and transport, and 6% for non-energy products like lubricants, asphalt and petrochemicals. 62% remains for end-users.
Final consumption
World total final consumption of 104,426 TWh (or 8,979 mega-tonne of oil equivalent) by fuels in 2012 (IEA, 2014)[1]:28
This is the world-wide consumption of energy by end-users. This energy consists of fuel (80%) and electricity (20%). 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 2013.[3]
Fuel:
- Fossil: natural gas, fuel derived from petroleum (LPG, gasoline, kerosene, gas/diesel, fuel oil), from coal (anthracite, bituminous coal, coke, lignite, blast furnace gas).
- Renewable: biofuel and fuel derived from waste, so far as it is traded.
- District heating.[6]
The amounts are based on lower heating value.
Electricity:
See Electric energy consumption (section World electricity consumption) for details, but note that the table there includes also internal consumption of power plants, about 10% of the totals.
The first table lists world-wide final consumption and the countries/regions which use 3/4 of that. In developing countries fuel consumption is more renewable. Canada and Brazil generate most electricity with hydropower.
| Fuel Mtoe/a | of which renewable | Electricity Mtoe/a | of which renewable | Inhabitants million | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WORLD | 6800 | 17% | 1680 | 21% | 7120 |
| China | 1390 | 16% | 387 | 20% | 1360 |
| United States | 1050 | 7% | 325 | 13% | 316 |
| European Union | 801 | 10% | 238 | 13% | 508 |
| Africa | 485 | 62% | 51 | 13% | 1110 |
| India | 415 | 41% | 77 | 16% | 1250 |
| Russia | 300 | 1% | 64 | 21% | 143 |
| Japan | 191 | 2% | 82 | 12% | 127 |
| Brazil | 170 | 34% | 42 | 82% | 200 |
| Indonesia | 135 | 40% | 16 | 11% | 250 |
| Canada | 133 | 9% | 42 | 59% | 35 |
| Iran | 130 | 0% | 18 | 5% | 77 |
| Mexico | 91 | 9% | 21 | 23% | 118 |
| s-Korea | 82 | 4% | 42 | 2% | 50 |
The next table shows countries consuming most (80%) in the European Union, and Norway. The last three countries generate electricity largely renewable.
| Fuel Mtoe/a | of which renewable | Electricity Mtoe/a | of which renewable | Inhabitants million | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 158 | 9% | 45 | 25% | 82 |
| France | 106 | 12% | 38 | 16% | 66 |
| United Kingdom | 96 | 2% | 27 | 13% | 64 |
| Italy | 90 | 10% | 25 | 32% | 61 |
| Spain | 56 | 9% | 20 | 31% | 47 |
| Poland | 51 | 12% | 11 | 11% | 39 |
| Netherland | 38 | 3% | 9 | 14% | 17 |
| Belgium | 26 | 8% | 7 | 14% | 11 |
| Portugal | 11 | 20% | 4 | 60% | 10 |
| Denmark | 11 | 13% | 3 | 48% | 6 |
| Norway | 9 | 11% | 9 | 98% | 5 |
Outlook until 2040
In view of contemporary energy policy of countries the IEA expects[7] that the worldwide energy consumption in 2040 will have increased 30%, mainly by strong growth in India and China, while EU and Japan will use less and the US about the same.
Electricity use will increase 60% by
- growing economies in developing countries where now about 1/6 of all people in the world have no electricity, and
- electrification of transport and heating which now uses mainly fossil fuel.
More than half of this 60% increase will be generated using wind and sun. The share of coal for electricity generation will decrease from 40% to 30%.
With this policy the goal, set in the Paris Agreement, will not be reached. More measures, including phase-out of subsidy on fossil fuel and increase of investment in renewable energy, can be taken at no net economic cost.
Notes and References
- 1 2 3 "2014 Key World Energy Statistics" (PDF). http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/. IEA. 2014. pp. 6,8. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. External link in
|website=(help) - ↑ IEA Statistics manual, chapter 7
- 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, wind turbines and solar panels. Geothermal energy used in power plants is set at 10 times the electric energy, assuming 10% efficiency.
- 1 2 3 IEA Statistics search, Balances
- ↑ The International Energy Agency uses the energy unit Mtoe. Practically the same data are presented by the US Energy Information Administration http://www.eia.doe.gov/ expressed in quads. 1 quad = 1015 BTU = 25.2 Mtoe.
- ↑ "OECD Factbook 2013: Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics". 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
- ↑ In energy statistics this is not part of fuel but a separate part of final consumption, next to electricity, see IEA Statistics search, Electricity and Heat.
- ↑ IEA Outlook