Worldwide energy supply

This is the worldwide 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 production is usually classified as

• fossil, using coal, crude oil and natural gas,
• nuclear, using uranium,
• renewable, using hydro power, biomass, wind and solar energy, among others.

Primary energy assessment follows certain rules[note 1] 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.

The table lists the worldwide PE production and the countries/regions producing most (90%) of that. In this article Europe does not include Russia.

The amounts are given in million tonnes of oil equivalent per year (1 Mtoe/a = 11.63 TWh/a = 1.327 GW). The data[1] are of 2017.[note 2]

Click on a column header to arrange countries/regions by that kind of primary energy.

The top producers of the USA are Texas 20%, Wyoming 9%, Pennsylvania 9%, W Virginia 5% and Oklahoma 5%.[3]

In the Mid-East the Persian Gulf states Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the Arab Emirates produce most. A small part comes from Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.

The top producers in Africa are Nigeria (249), S-Africa (158), Algeria (153) and Angola (92).

In Europe Norway (206, oil and gas), France (130, mainly nuclear), Germany (115), UK (120), Poland (64, mainly coal) and Netherlands (42, mainly natural gas) produce most.

Of the world renewable supply 68% is biofuel and waste, mostly in developing countries, 18% is generated with hydro power and 14% with other renewables.[4]

For more detailed energy production see

• List of countries by electricity production
• List of countries by electricity production from renewable sources
• Nuclear power by country

Primary energy is converted in many ways to energy carriers, also known as secondary energy.[7]

• 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 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 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, usually in a wind farm.

The invention of the solar cell in 1954 started electricity generation by solar panels, connected to a power inverter. Around 2000 mass production of panels made this economic.

Much primary and converted energy is traded among countries, about 5350 Mtoe/a worldwide, mostly oil and gas. The table lists countries/regions with large difference of export and import. A negative value indicates that much energy import is needed for the economy. The quantities are expressed in Mtoe/a and the data are of 2017.[1]

Big transport goes by tanker ship, tank truck, LNG carrier, rail freight transport, pipeline and by electric power transmission.

Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES) indicates the sum of production and imports subtracting exports and storage changes.[8] 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.

The table lists the worldwide TPES and the countries/regions using most (83%) of that in 2017, and TPES per person.[1]

31% of worldwide primary production is used for conversion and transport, and 6% for non-energy products like lubricants, asphalt and petrochemicals. 63% remains for end-users. Most of the energy lost by conversion occurs in thermal electricity plants and the energy industry own use.

Total final consumption (TFC) is the worldwide consumption of energy by end-users. This energy consists of fuel (79%) and electricity (21%). 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 2017.[1]

Fuel:

• fossil: natural gas, fuel derived from petroleum (LPG, gasoline, kerosene, gas/diesel, fuel oil), from coal (anthracite, bituminous coal, coke, blast furnace gas).
• renewable: biofuel and fuel derived from waste.
• for District heating.

The amounts are based on lower heating value.

The first table lists worldwide final consumption and the countries/regions which use most (83%). In developing countries fuel consumption per person is low and more renewable. Canada, Venezuela and Brazil generate most electricity with hydropower.

In Africa 32 of the 48 nations are declared to be in an energy crisis by the World Bank. See Energy in Africa.

The next table shows countries consuming most (85%) in Europe.

For more details in Europe see Energy in Germany, Energy in France, etc.

In the Stated Policies Scenario the IEA assesses the likely effects of announced policies, as expressed in official targets and plans. To 2040 the global energy demand will increase a quarter. Global energy-related CO₂ emissions will continue to rise, premature deaths linked to air pollution are set to increase, and in 2030 there would still be around 620 million people without access to electricity. This scenario would put considerable strain on all aspects of the global energy system.

The Sustainable Development IEA Scenario is to ensure universal energy access for all by 2030; to bring about sharp reductions in emissions of air pollutants; and to meet global climate goals in line with the Paris Agreement.[11] (See section 2.1).

In 2030 overall primary energy demand can be kept below today’s level by increasing efficiency, low carbon sources (renewable and nuclear) can increase their share to 30%, natural gas and oil increase, coal falls rapidly (see Table 2.1, 3.1, 4.1 and 5.1). CO₂ emission can reduce to 25 Gt mainly by increasing efficiency and renewable share. In 2040 67% of electricity can be generated renewable, 11% nuclear and 21% with oil and gas including 5% using carbon capture and storage (see Figure 6.4). In 2050 low carbon sources share of primary energy supply could be 60% and CO₂ emission 10 Gt (Table 2.1).

The global annual average energy investment in the period 2020-40 could increase from $2.7 to $3.9 trillion of which $0.5 to $0.7 trillion for renewables (Table 1.7).

Many scenario's are possible. The actions taken by governments will be decisive in determining which path to follow. As of 2019, there is still a chance of keeping global warming below 1.5°C if no more fossil fuel power plants are built and some existing fossil fuel power plants are shut down early, together with other measures such as reforestation.[12]

Alternative Achieving the Paris Climate Agreement Goals scenarios are developed by a team of 20 scientists at the University of Technology of Sydney, the German Aerospace Center, and the University of Melbourne, 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.[13] 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 (page ix).

In the +2.0 C (global warming) Scenario total primary energy demand in 2040 can be 450 EJ = 10755 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 PJ in the +1.5 Scenario in 2040. In 2050 renewables can cover nearly all energy demand. Non-energy consumption will still include fossil fuels. See Fig.5 on p.xxvii.

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 (p.xxiv). 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 (p.182).

Shifts from domestic aviation to rail and from road to rail are needed. Passenger car use must decrease in the OECD 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. See Fig.4 on p.xxii.

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 (p.xxviii).

• Energy demand management
• Energy industry
  • Environmental impact of the energy industry
• Global warming
• World energy consumption
  • List of countries by total primary energy consumption and production
• For history see articles on the control of fire, extraction of coal and oil, use of wind- and watermills and sailing ships.

• Smart Energy Strategies: Meeting the Climate Change Challenge. Wirtschaft, Energie, Umwelt. vdf Hochschulverlag AG. 2008. pp. 79–80. ISBN 978-3-7281-3218-5. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
• Jacobson, Mark Z; Delucchi, Mark A; Bauer, Zack A.F; Goodman, Savannah C; Chapman, William E; Cameron, Mary A; Bozonnat, Cedric; Chobadi, Liat; Clonts, Hailey A; Enevoldsen, Peter; Erwin, Jenny R; Fobi, Simone N; Goldstrom, Owen K; Hennessy, Eleanor M; Liu, Jingyi; Lo, Jonathan; Meyer, Clayton B; Morris, Sean B; Moy, Kevin R; O'Neill, Patrick L; Petkov, Ivalin; Redfern, Stephanie; Schucker, Robin; Sontag, Michael A; Wang, Jingfan; Weiner, Eric; Yachanin, Alexander S (2017). "100% Clean and Renewable Wind, Water, and Sunlight All-Sector Energy Roadmaps for 139 Countries of the World". Joule. 1: 108–121. doi:10.1016/j.joule.2017.07.005.
• Jacobson, Mark Z; Delucchi, Mark A; Cameron, Mary A; Mathiesen, Brian V (2018). "Matching demand with supply at low cost in 139 countries among 20 world regions with 100% intermittent wind, water, and sunlight (WWS) for all purposes". Renewable Energy. 123: 236–248. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2018.02.009.