The current era is marked by increasingly strong economic growth, climate changes that lead to global warming and heat waves, but also the development of technology that requires the use of electricity, for example, the application of artificial intelligence (AI). Climate change is leading to new forms of electricity use, such as electric vehicles. All this causes the fastest pace of growth in the world’s demand for electricity in the last few years.
The forecast presented by the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that the demand for electricity will grow by about four percent in 2024, compared to 2.5 percent in 2023.
“This would represent the highest growth rate since 2007, excluding the recovery observed after the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic,” the IEA website states, adding that the strong increase in global consumption will continue until 2025.
However, the good news is that during this and the next year, renewable energy sources should also develop rapidly. It is expected that the share of this type of energy in the global electricity supply will increase from 30 percent in 2023 to 35 percent in 2025. Solar energy should meet about half of the growth in electricity demand in the period from 2024 to 2025. Together with wind, it will meet three-quarters of the increase in demand.
Although renewable energy sources are developing, there are not high expectations that the production of energy from coal will fall this year, due to the increase in demand, for example, in China and India.
Based on all of the above, carbon dioxide emissions from the global energy sector could also achieve a slight increase this year, while a decrease is expected in 2025.
The increase in demand for electricity of four percent is the global average, however, the world’s largest economies will especially record growth. As stated, an increase of eight percent is expected in India in 2024, and more than six percent in China. When it comes to the European Union, a weaker growth of 1.7 percent is expected there.
The use of cooling devices has been especially mentioned lately, due to the increasingly intense heat waves that have hit countries around the world. More precisely, the use of air conditioners will remain in a large part of the world, a significant driver of demand for electricity.
Energy portal
Source: energetskiportal.rs
