Worldwide energy supply

Worldwide energy supply is the global production and preparation of fuel, generation of electricity, and energy transport. Energy supply is a vast industry.

Many countries publish statistics on the energy supply from their own country or from other countries or the world. One of the largest organizations in this field, the International Energy Agency IEA, publishes yearly comprehensive energy data. This collection of energy balances is very large. This article provides a brief description of energy supply, using statistics summarized in tables, of the countries and regions that produce and consume most.

Energy production is 80% fossil. Half of that is produced by China, the United States and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. The Gulf States and Russia export most of their production, largely to the European Union and China where not enough energy is produced to satisfy demand. Energy production increases slowly, except for solar and wind energy which grows more than 20% per year.

Primary energy sources are transformed by the energy sector to generate energy carriers.

Produced energy, for instance crude oil, is processed to make it suitable for consumption by end users. The supply chain between production and final consumption involves many conversion activities and much trade and transport among countries, causing a loss of one quarter of energy before it is consumed.

Energy consumption per person in North America is very high while in developing countries it is low and more renewable.

Worldwide carbon dioxide emission from fossil fuel was 37 gigaton in 2017. In view of contemporary energy policy of countries the IEA expects that the worldwide energy consumption in 2040 will have increased more than a quarter and that the goal, set in the Paris Agreement about Climate Change, will not nearly be reached. Several scenarios to achieve the goal are developed.

Primary energy production

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 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 and the countries/regions producing most (90%) of that. The amounts are rounded and given in million tonnes of oil equivalent per year (1 Mtoe = 11.63 TWh, 1 TWh = 10⁹ kWh). The data are of 2018.

Largest PE producers (90%) (Russia excluded in Europe)

	Total	Coal	Oil & Gas	Nuclear	Renewable
China	2560	1860	325	77	300
USA	2170	369	1400	219	180
Mid-East	2040	1	2030	2	4
Russia	1484	240	1165	54	25
Africa	1169	157	611	3	397
Europe	1111	171	398	244	296
India	574	289	67	10	208
Canada	529	31	422	26	50
Indonesia	451	288	102	0	61
Australia	412	287	115	0	9
Brazil	296	2	160	4	129
Kazakhstan	178	49	128	0	1
Mexico	159	7	132	4	16
World	14420	3890	7850	707	1972

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 (256), S-Africa (158), Algeria (156) and Angola (85).

In Europe Norway (207, oil and gas), France (135, mainly nuclear), Germany (112), UK (123), Poland (62, mainly coal) and Netherlands (36, 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.

For more detailed energy production see

• List of countries by electricity production
• Nuclear power by country

Trend

From 2015 to 2017 worldwide production increased 2%, mainly in Russia (7%), the Mid-East (8%) and India (5%), while China produced 3% less and the EU 2% less. From 2017 to 2019 world energy increased 5%, mainly in the USA (15%) and China (9%). From 2015 to 2018 wind energy increased 52% and solar energy 123%.

Energy conversion and trade

	Export minus Import
Mid-East	1245
Russia	701
Africa	319
Australia	280
Canada	228
Indonesia	220
Norway	177
United States	-80
Korea	-252
India	-347
Japan	-387
China	-733
Europe	-985

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 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 5800 Mtoe 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 2018. Big transport goes by tanker ship, tank truck, LNG carrier, rail freight transport, pipeline and by electric power transmission.

Total Energy Supply

Total Energy Supply and Primary Energy

Location	TES	PE
China	3210	2560
Europe	1984	1111
India	919	574
Mid-East	760	2040
Russia	760	1484
Japan	426	50
S-Korea	282	45
Canada	298	529
World	14280	14420

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 im- and exports cancel out, but for countries/regions TES and PE differ in quantity, and also in quality as secondary energy is involved, e.g., import of an oil refinery product. The table lists TES and PE for some countries/regions where these differ much, and worldwide. The amounts are rounded and given in Mtoe. The data are of 2018.

25% of worldwide primary production is used for conversion and transport, and 6% for non-energy products like lubricants, asphalt and petrochemicals. 69% remains for end-users. Most of the energy lost by conversion occurs in thermal electricity plants and the energy industry own use.

Final consumption

This section will be updated soon.

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.

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.

In developing countries fuel consumption per person is low and more renewable. Canada, Venezuela and Brazil generate most electricity with hydropower.

Final consumption for largest users (83%)

Location	Fuel Mtoe/a	of which renewable	Electricity Mtoe/a	of which renewable
China	1357	6%	476	25%
United States	1054	8%	321	17%
Europe	900	10%	275	33%
Africa	516	60%	56	18%
India	445	36%	100	17%
Russia	354	1%	65	17%
Japan	175	3%	83	16%
Brazil	170	36%	43	79%
Indonesia	148	38%	19	13%
Canada	131	9%	44	66%
Iran	141	0%	22	5%
Mexico	94	7%	23	16%
S-Korea	85	6%	45	3%
Australia	59	7%	18	16%
Argentina	45	7%	11	30%
Venezuela	23	26%	6	61%
World	7000	15%	1838	25%

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

Countries consuming most (85%) in Europe.

Country	Fuel Mtoe/a	of which renewable	Electricity Mtoe/a	of which renewable
Germany	159	9%	45	33%
France	102	12%	38	17%
United Kingdom	94	4%	26	30%
Italy	86	10%	25	35%
Spain	59	9%	20	32%
Poland	57	11%	12	14%
Ukraine	37	5%	10	7%
Netherlands	36	3%	9	15%
Belgium	27	4%	7	19%
Sweden	21	33%	11	58%
Austria	21	19%	5	75%
Romania	19	20%	4	38%
Finland	17	34%	7	47%
Portugal	11	20%	4	39%
Denmark	11	15%	3	71%
Norway	8	17%	10	98%

Trend

In the period 2005-2017 worldwide final consumption of

• coal increased 23%,
• oil and gas increased 18%,
• electricity increased 41%.

Energy for energy

Main article: Energy returned on energy invested

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 economic the ratio of energy returned on energy invested (EROEI) or energy return on investment (EROI) should be large enough. There is little consensus in the technical literature about methods and results in calculating these ratios.

Paul Brockway et al. find that such ratios, measured at the primary energy stage at the well, should instead be estimated at the final stage where energy is delivered at end users, including energy needed for conversion and transport. They calculate global EROI time series in the years 1995–2011 for fossil fuels at both primary and final energy stages and concur with common primary-stage estimates ~30, but find very low ratios at the final stage: around 6 and declining. They conclude that low and declining EROI values may lead to constraints on the energy available to society. And that renewables-based EROI may be higher than fossil fuels EROI when measured at the same final energy stage.

If at the final stage the energy delivered is E and the EROI equals R, then the net energy available to society 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.

Marco Raugei with 20 coauthors find EROI 9-10 for PV systems in Switzerland as the ratio of the total electrical output to the ‘equivalent electrical energy’ investment. They criticize inclusion of energy storage in the calculation of EROI for PV panels or windturbines, as it would make the result incompatible with conventional EROI calculations for other electricity generating installations. Measuring the performance of energy technologies ought to be done in a comprehensive analysis of a country's energy system.

Outlook

IEA scenarios

In Net Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE2050), A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector IEA presents two scenarios.

In Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS) IEA assesses the likely effects of 2021 policy settings. This would lead to a temperature rise of around 2.7 °C by 2100. Net zero pledges, even if delivered in full, fall well short of what is necessary to reach global net‐zero emissions by 2050 (p.29).

The NZE2050 Scenario shows what is needed to achieve what is necessary, consistent with limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 °C. In 2050 half of energy consumption will be electricity, generated for nearly 70% by wind and solar PV, about 20% with other renewable sources and most of the remainder from nuclear power. The other half is biomass, gas and oil with CCS (carbon capture and storage) or non-energetic (asphalt, petrochemics); zero coal (p.18, 19, Fig. 2.9). On the way to 2050 investing in new fossil fuels is no longer necessary now (2021) (p. 21). Annual energy investment is expected to increase from just over $ 2 trillion worldwide on average over the past five years to nearly $ 5 trillion by 2030 and to $ 4.5 trillion by 2050. The bulk will be spent on generating, storing, and distributing electricity, and electrical end-user equipment (heat pumps, vehicles) (p. 81).

Alternative scenarios

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. 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).

See also

• 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.

Further reading

• 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.