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E Profile - Table 1

Energy Profile at a Glance

"Is your country energy dependent?"

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In Feb 2022, a major conflict erupted in Ukraine.  Global economic prospects have worsened significantly since then.  Indeed, the world will have to deal with both short- & long-term scenarios.  In the short-term, the epicenter of the global shock is (will be) Ukraine (Russo-Ukrainian war) & Taiwan (the "chip battle"). In the long-term, it will be related to the Sino-U.S. power competition, the real-life game of thrones

  

REN investments

  

Despite this worrisome situation, REN expenditures are expected to double over the next 10 years to more than USD 1,400 bn per year, while grid expenditures also are likely to exceed USD 1,000 bn per year in 2030 [DNV, 2022].  The growth of solar PV has been remarkable: 1 GW per year was installed for the first time in 2004.  In 2021, 150 GW was added despite supply-chain disruptions due to COVID-19.  From 2030, 700 GW annual additions are expected [IEA, 2025].  By 2050, total installed capacity will be 9.5 TW for solar PV and 5 TW for solar PV + storage (24x greater than in 2020).

  

Energy sources

  

Coal, with its high load factor, is best suited for power generation.  Oil & derivatives, due to their high energy density in liquid form, dominate transportation.  Natural gas (NG), the cleanest fossil fuel—emitting about 45% less COâ‚‚ than coal and 30% less than oil—is mainly used for power & heating.  Despite costly pipelines, NG plays a key role in integrating REN.  Biomass (Bio) is best suited for electricity & transportation, and hydro, nuclear (Nucl), and renewables (Ren) (solar PV & wind) for electricity (Table 1).

  

Country's energy profile - energy self-sufficiency

  

A nation’s energy self-sufficiency, defined as the ratio of total primary energy supply to domestic energy production, is a key indicator of sovereignty in both peacetime & conflict.  Table 1 shows this and other indicators for most countries in the world.  Figure 1 shows comparison of primary energy self-sufficiency among major nations in 2019 (may slightly differ from in Table 1).

 Table 1: Country's energy profile

 * Columns 3 & 4 (Total Energy Production & Energy Self-Sufficiency) with 2019 data

 Legend:

  • Bio: Biomass; H2: Hydrogen; Hydro: Hydroelectric; NG: Natural Gas: Nucl: Nuclear; Ren: Renewables

  • WPR: World Population Review

  • IEA: International Energy Agency

  • CSIRO: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

Figure 1: Comparison of primary energy self-sufficiency among major nations (2019)

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Source: Meti, 2022
Figure 1 Comparison
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