Energy

Visualizing the Race for Clean Energy

Published

5 years ago

December 13, 2017

Jeff Desjardins

Visualizing the Race for Clean Energy

The Race for Clean Energy

To see the full resolution version of this infographic that has higher legibility, click here.

Last year, on a global basis, more net power generating capacity was added through renewable sources than via all other power sources combined.

Which countries are leading this charge, and what power sources are being adopted the fastest?

Today’s infographic comes to us Raconteur, and it breaks down various metrics around energy investment. The graphic looks at absolute and per capita power consumption by countries, as well as dollars being invested into each particular type of green energy.

Country Comparisons

The two countries that lead the pack in absolute terms are China and the United States. In 2016, China consumed the equivalent of 349.2 million tonnes of oil in renewable energy, while the U.S. was at 143 million tonnes.

However, these numbers are very skewed by the large populations of these countries. In percentage terms, China only gets 11.4% of its primary energy from renewables, while the U.S. gets 6.3% of its mix from sources like solar and wind.

On a per capita basis, major economies leading the world include countries like Norway, Canada, Sweden, Brazil, and Austria – all of these countries get about 30% or more of their primary energy from renewables. That said, it is also worth noting that hydropower makes up a large degree of the energy mixes for many of these places.

Clean Investments

2016 was a landmark year for clean energy, with net power capacity additions for renewables topping the list:

Power Type	Net Global Capacity Added (2016)
Renewable (excl. large hydro)	138 GW
Coal	54 GW
Gas	37 GW
Large hydro	15 GW
Nuclear	10 GW
Other flexible capacity	5 GW

Importantly, more green power is being added at lower costs. Below, you can see that the level of investment is actually falling, as utilities get more “bang for the buck” on new capacity added.

Here is the overall investment for each renewable category in 2016:

Renewable source	Global New Investment (Billions)	Change
Solar	$113.7	-34%
Wind	$112.5	-9%
Large hydro	$23.2	-48%
Biomass & waste-to-energy	$6.8	0%
Small hydro	$3.5	0%
Geothermal	$2.7	-37%
Biofuels	$2.2	17%
Marine	$0.2	-7%

In 2016, investment in clean energy fell by 18% – however, 138 GW of new power capacity came online from renewable sources (excl. large hydro), which is 11 GW more than in the previous year.

If costs continue to fall, it will mean more accessible clean energy for any country that wants it – and cost efficiency will also make the race to add capacity via renewables much more meaningful and sustainable in the long term.

Related Topics:energy solar wind renewables clean energy

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Energy

Visualizing the Scale of Global Fossil Fuel Production

How much oil, coal, and natural gas do we extract each year? See the scale of annual fossil fuel production in perspective.

Published

1 week ago

January 31, 2023

Govind Bhutada

The Scale of Global Fossil Fuel Production

This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email every week.

Fossil fuels have been our predominant source of energy for over a century, and the world still extracts and consumes a colossal amount of coal, oil, and gas every year.

This infographic visualizes the volume of global fossil fuel production in 2021 using data from BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy.

The Facts on Fossil Fuels

In 2021, the world produced around 8 billion tonnes of coal, 4 billion tonnes of oil, and over 4 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.

Most of the coal is used to generate electricity for our homes and offices and has a key role in steel production. Similarly, natural gas is a large source of electricity and heat for industries and buildings. Oil is primarily used by the transportation sector, in addition to petrochemical manufacturing, heating, and other end uses.

Here’s a full breakdown of coal, oil, and gas production by country in 2021.

Coal Production

If all the coal produced in 2021 were arranged in a cube, it would measure 2,141 meters (2.1km) on each side—more than 2.5 times the height of the world’s tallest building.

China produced 50% or more than four billion tonnes of the world’s coal in 2021. It’s also the largest consumer of coal, accounting for 54% of coal consumption in 2021.

Rank	Country	2021 Coal Production (million tonnes)	% of Total
#1	🇨🇳 China	4,126.0	50%
#2	🇮🇳 India	811.3	10%
#3	🇮🇩 Indonesia	614.0	8%
#4	🇺🇸 U.S.	524.4	6%
#5	🇦🇺 Australia	478.6	6%
#6	🇷🇺 Russia	433.7	5%
#7	🇿🇦 South Africa	234.5	3%
#8	🇩🇪 Germany	126.0	2%
#9	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	115.7	1%
#10	🇵🇱 Poland	107.6	1%
	🌍 Other	600.9	7%
	Total	8,172.6	100%

India is both the second largest producer and consumer of coal. Meanwhile, Indonesia is the world’s largest coal exporter, followed by Australia.

In the West, U.S. coal production was down 47% as compared to 2011 levels, and the descent is likely to continue with the clean energy transition.

Oil Production

In 2021, the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia were the three largest crude oil producers, respectively.

Rank	Country	2021 Oil Production (million tonnes)	% of Total
#1	🇺🇸 U.S.	711.1	17%
#2	🇷🇺 Russia	536.4	13%
#3	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	515.0	12%
#4	🇨🇦 Canada	267.1	6%
#5	🇮🇶 Iraq	200.8	5%
#6	🇨🇳 China	198.9	5%
#7	🇮🇷 Iran	167.7	4%
#8	🇦🇪 UAE	164.4	4%
#9	🇧🇷 Brazil	156.8	4%
#10	🇰🇼 Kuwait	131.1	3%
	🌍 Other	1172.0	28%
	Total	4221.4	100%

OPEC countries, including Saudi Arabia, made up the largest share of production at 35% or 1.5 billion tonnes of oil.

U.S. oil production has seen significant growth since 2010. In 2021, the U.S. extracted 711 million tonnes of oil, more than double the 333 million tonnes produced in 2010.

Natural Gas Production

The world produced 4,036 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2021. The above graphic converts that into an equivalent of seven billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to visualize it on the same scale as oil and gas.

Here are the top 10 producers of natural gas in 2021:

Rank	Country	2021 Natural Gas Production (billion m³)	% of Total
#1	🇺🇸 U.S.	934.2	23%
#2	🇷🇺 Russia	701.7	17%
#3	🇮🇷 Iran	256.7	6%
#4	🇨🇳 China	209.2	5%
#5	🇶🇦 Qatar	177.0	4%
#6	🇨🇦 Canada	172.3	4%
#7	🇦🇺 Australia	147.2	4%
#8	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	117.3	3%
#9	🇳🇴 Norway	114.3	3%
#10	🇩🇿 Algeria	100.8	2%
	🌍 Other	1106.3	27%
	Total	4,036.9	100%

The U.S. was the largest producer, with Texas and Pennsylvania accounting for 47% of its gas production. The U.S. electric power and industrial sectors account for around one-third of domestic natural gas consumption.

Russia, the next-largest producer, was the biggest exporter of gas in 2021. It exported an estimated 210 billion cubic meters of natural gas via pipelines to Europe and China. Around 80% of Russian natural gas comes from operations in the Arctic region.