Electricity consumption explodes: E-cars and air conditioning systems drive demand

Electricity consumption explodes: E-cars and air conditioning systems drive demand

Krone, Österreich - global electricity consumption experienced a significant increase in 2024. The growth is 4.3 percent, which corresponds to a total of 1100 terrawatt hours. This increase is twice as high as the average of the past ten years. An essential factor for this increase is the growing interest in electric vehicles; The sales of e-cars rose by over 25 percent in 2024. According to Krone , electric vehicles now make up every fifth worldwide car.

In contrast, the development of oil demand shows that this increase only by 0.8 percent in 2024, which is slightly compared to previous years. Surprisingly, the proportion of oil in total energy demands for the first time dropped below 30 percent, while this proportion was still 46 percent in the 1970s.

causes of the increase in power consumption

The increasing electricity requirement is due to various factors. In its study, the International Energy Agency (IEA) emphasizes that in addition to the economic growth, the increasing electricity requirement for data processing, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies contributes to this development. The increasing use of electrical climate systems and cooling to reduce the effects of the climate crisis also contributed significantly to the increase in consumption, such as Welt reported.

It is particularly noteworthy that the introduction of clean energy technologies has avoided around 2.6 billion tons of CO2 emissions annually since 2019. This corresponds to 7 percent of global emissions. Fatih Birol, Chairman of the IEA, emphasizes the importance of expanding solar and wind energy as well as nuclear energy and electric vehicles. These developments help to loosen the connection between economic growth and emissions.

progress in the expansion of renewable energies

Another central aspect of the energy transition is the expansion of renewable energies. The Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) has documented this in a brochure that illuminates the progress in expanding renewable energies in Germany. The data comes from the working group Renewable Energy Statistics (Agee-Stat), which works on behalf of the BMWK. On the website of the BMWK , current time series for the development of renewable energies in Germany have been available since 1990. This information offers a valuable context for the current discussion about global energy requirements and the associated challenges.