Renewables Make Up 22% Of OECD Electricity Generation In 2014

July 6th, 2015 by Joshua S Hill

The International Energy Agency released figures for 2014 electricity generation in the OECD in 2014, highlighting the increase in renewable energy generation, which accounted for 22% of all electricity generated.

However, that news is juxtaposed with the fact that the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) figures show that energy production across the 34 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) exceeded 4,000 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) for the first time since the Agency was founded in 1974.

Specifically, there were significant production increases in the US — up 12% for oil and 5% for natural gas — and in Canada and Australia, with 9% increases in oil and coal respectively (and unsurprisingly).

Non-hydro renewable electricity generation rose 9% in 2014, reaching 9% of total generation for the year. This brought the total renewable electricity generation up to 22%, or 2,355 TWh.

On the other hand, generation from fossil fuels fell 160 TWh.

The figures are part of the IEA’s Energy Balances of OECD Countries 2015 database.

OECD energy exports reached a new high of 1,695 Mtoe, while imports of energy fell by 2.5%, leaving net OECD imports at 1,324 Mtoe, the lowest figure since 1995.

Total primary energy supply (TPES — which represents an indicator of energy use) fell across OECD countries by 1.2%, thanks in part to declines for all fossil fuels, with gas consumption dropping by 2.3%, coal consumption by 1.9%, and oil by 0.9%.

Specifically, “the overall drop in TPES in 2014 was driven by a 4% decrease in OECD Europe, where natural gas supply was about 10% lower than in 2013, generally due to a milder winter,” wrote the authors of the accompanying report. “For gas, reductions larger than 10% were observed in several major consuming countries, like Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Belgium. In the Slovak Republic, the decrease was almost of one-third.”









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