Photo caption: Oil pump jack
Coal, gas and oil still generate 57% of the world’s electricity, down from 65% in 2000, according to Pew Research Center’s analysis of Ember data.
Wind and solar now supply 17% of global electricity, more than triple their share a decade ago, but nuclear’s share has fallen from 17% to 9% since 2000.
China leads the world in wind and solar capacity while still burning more coal than any other country; the EU now gets 48% of its power from non-hydrocarbon sources versus 29% from gas and coal.
When the Energy Institute reported in its Statistical Review of World Energy that the global grid is still ruled by hydrocarbons, it may have come as a surprise to some observers. Now, another report has confirmed the status quo: alternative energy sources of electricity are expanding, but the world still generates most of its electricity from coal, gas, and oil.
Some 57% of global electricity is generated from hydrocarbons, Pew Research Center reported, after analyzing data produced by net-zero outlet Ember, which is also a partner of the Energy Institute in the Statistical Review of World Energy. While a solid portion of the total, that share is a decline from 65% back in 2000, the report noted. For context, the Energy Institute’s report estimates the share of coal, gas, and oil in global primary energy consumption at 86%, essentially unchanged over the past 20 years/
Alternative energy sources such as wind and solar, meanwhile, have been expanding rapidly, especially solar, according to the Pew Research Center report. According to the Ember data, wind and solar together accounted for a total of 17% of the world’s electricity generation last year, while a decade ago the two combined only covered less than 5% of demand. The report noted that when bundled with energy sources such as geothermal, hydropower, and tidal power, renewable energy sources accounted for a larger share of global electricity generation than hydrocarbons. This is hardly a surprise, given the world’s significant hydropower generation capacity, which has been in use for decades.
A problematic finding of the Pew Research Center report is the decline in nuclear power generation. This fell last year to 9% of total generation, from 17% back in 2000. The reason this is a problem was revealed by the Energy Institute in its report and has to do with the rate of electricity demand growth versus the rate of generation capacity growth. According to the Energy Institute and its partners, energy demand globally is soaring much faster than new generation capacity is being added—even solar, which is normally fast to build and put into operation.
The Energy Institute said in its report that this is the reason why coal and gas—and to a lesser extent oil—remain such a big part of the electricity generation mix of the world. They can be supplied on demand and generate power also on demand, unlike their alternatives.
The Pew Research Center also noted the much faster growth of electricity demand compared to supply, highlighting the inevitable increase in the use of hydrocarbons in absolute terms, while as a share of the total, they declined, according to the Ember data. Alternatives, such as wind and solar, on the other hand, have grown as a share of the total as a number of countries embarked on a crusade against emissions and energy import dependence.
China has been by far the most successful in shifting away from hydrocarbons—while it has remained one of the biggest consumers of all three of them. This is another piece of evidence of the difference between energy mix as capacity and energy use. China is the world’s biggest market for wind and solar capacity, but it is also the largest consumer of coal—and builder of new coal power plants.
The European Union is at the other end of the scale, boasting more electricity generated by non-hydrocarbon sources than hydrocarbons last year. The alternative source total in the report does not include a breakdown by type but likely includes hydropower. That share stood at 48%, according to Ember data, while 29% of the total was generated by gas and coal power plants.
=== Oilprice.com ===
