Monday 10 October 2016

Energy demand to peak by 2030

Will energy use decline from 2030?

The World Energy Council has released their predictions this week that the global demand for energy will reach its peak by 2030. This is thanks, in part, to a combination of new technologies entering the market and governments creating stricter policies.

Reporting on a range of scenarios for global energy usage, the academics, energy companies and public sector bodies discovered that there would be a 'new world' for the energy industry. The council is the UN-accredited global energy body.

They presented the findings at the World Energy Congress in Istanbul, along with the predction that after the year 2030, energy usage will decline per person - including transport fuels, heating and electricity.

Thanks to developments in technology for the sector, use of renewable energy is growing and anticipated to grow faster as coal and oil will start to fade away. The group indicates that while 4% of power generation comes from renewables, this should be approximately 39% by 2060.

While these demands will fall, the report also shows that demand for electricity will have doubled by 2060, which requires a greater investment in the infrastructure systems that promote energy efficiency.

Three scenarios were proposed by the council that would enable the assessment of different energy use areas. These options see the use of fossil fuels ranging from 50% to 70% of energy by 2060.

Developments such as electric cars instead of petrol and diesel will help this progress, but is thought to be one of the most difficult obstacles in the plan. However two of them theorise that oil production will peak and beging to fall in 2030, with the third predicting it to plateau until 2040.

Currently oil powers 92% of vehicles with this expected to fall as low as 60% with the rise in electric powered motors.

It was also reported that maintaing global warming below 2C requires an 'exceptional effort' which would be far beyond the commitments that have already been pledged.

To accompany this reduced demand they also predict that the growth of the population will slow down, new technologies will be developed, environmental challenges will grow, and a change in economic and geopolitical power.

In the mean time, it always pays to conserve your energy usage as it brings your bills down as well. To find out how you can start saving energy, and in turn money, call one of the agents at the price comparison and switching service energyadviceline.org.uk