World Energy Production Rises

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--World energy production rose 1.5% from 2013 to 2014, with fossil fuels supplying 81% of the total.

The latest figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA) showed that world energy production hit 13,800 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2014. The 81% share held by fossil fuels was almost half a percent lower than in 2013, despite rising oil (+2.1%), coal (+0.8%) and natural gas production (+0.6%). However, preliminary data for country level production data for 2015 shows "a clear slowdown in the growth of fossil fuel production", only 0.5% higher than in 2014.

Coal was the biggest loser last year with a 3.1% drop in production, while crude oil and natural gas production increased at a higher rate than in 2014, up 3% and 1.6% respectively. In particular, the use of coal dropped significantly in the U.S. during 2015. The country used 15% less than in 2014, which was linked to a switch by the power sector to gas, which also reflected the associated change in generation efficiency. An extra 200 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity came from natural gas instead of coal compared with 2014. This change in the U.S. drove the 6% decrease in coal demand noted in the overall Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) region.

The global production of renewables grew even faster in 2015. Hydro production was up 2.5% and accounted for 2.4% of global production, while wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) continued their rapid rise, up 11% and 35% respectively, accounting for around 1% of global energy production. Non-fossil energy sources such as biofuels and waste accounted for 10.2% of world energy production in 2014, and nuclear boosted its share slightly to 4.7%.

Looking at the fuel mix of the 35 OECD countries, the use of fossil fuels in electricity generation continued its decline last year with around 105 TWh--or 2%--less generated. Non-hydro power renewables made up for the shortfall by generating 115 TWh more than in 2014, an 11% increase. Solar PV and wind led the charge with year-on-year growth rates of 19% and 16%, respectively.

Across the OECD total renewable sources--hydro and non-hydro--accounted for 2,471 TWh of electricity generation which contributed 23% of the total and marked another all-time high.

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