Global demand for electricity has increased by 90% since 2000
Global demand for electricity has increased by 90% since 2000, according to data from the Ember think tank. If in 2000 world electricity consumption was 15,108 TWh, then in 2022 - 28,661 TWh.
The increase in demand in absolute terms reached 13,553 TWh, which is comparable to the current annual electricity consumption in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region (14,449 TWh in 2022).
The upward trend in demand has only been interrupted twice over the past twenty odd years: in 2009, when global electricity consumption fell by 0.7% due to the global financial crisis, and in 2020, when electricity demand fell by 0.3% % due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The key driver of demand for electricity was the rapid economic growth in the Asia-Pacific countries, where coal plays an important role in the energy balance. According to experts from the Global Energy Association, in the period from 2000 to 2014. Electricity generation from coal in the Asia-Pacific countries almost tripled (to 6,343 TWh), and the Asia-Pacific region’s share in the global structure of coal generation reached 65% (versus 36% in 2000). This largely explains the reasons for the “golden age of coal”, which occurred in the period from 2000 to 2014, when the increase in global demand for solid fuel reached 62.7 exadojoules (EJ), one and a half times higher than the level of 1965-2000. (an increase of 40.7 EJ).
The OECD countries also remained the driver of demand, where electrification affected not only transport, but also other sectors of the economy. For example, the share of electricity in energy consumption in the commercial real estate segment in the United States in the period from 1979 to 2018. increased from 38% to 61%; The transition to electric heating of office buildings, along with the development of air conditioning systems and the digitalization of workplaces, had an impact. The share of heating oil in the sector's energy consumption fell over the same period from 14% to 1%, the share of natural gas from 44% to 34%, and the share of district heating remained at 4%, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). .
The growth in demand for electricity was also facilitated by the development of renewable energy infrastructure: according to IRENA, the global installed capacity of power plants using renewable energy sources in 2013–2022 more than doubled - from 1,566 GW to 3,372 GW. As a result, the increase in demand for renewable energy sources in 2013–2022. reached 29.4 EJ, which is only half the increase in demand for coal in the already mentioned “golden age” (an increase of 62.7 EJ in 2000-2014). This assessment is made by the Energy Institute based on the “input-equivalent” indicator, which reflects the amount of fossil fuel that would be needed to generate electricity generated using renewable energy sources.
Global electricity demand is likely to continue to grow in the coming years, driven, in part, by the electrification of transport, increased availability of electricity grids in Africa and the development of off-grid generation technologies.