HOUSTON, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecast on Tuesday that world energy consumption will grow by nearly 50 percent between 2018 and 2050.
In the International Energy Outlook 2019 Reference case released on Tuesday, EIA projected that more than half of the increase in global energy consumption occurs in non-OECD (the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) Asian countries.
Energy demand in non-OECD Asia was larger than in any other region in 2018, and it is projected to almost double between 2018 and 2050, making it both the largest and fastest-growing region in the world for energy consumption.
China and India have been among the world's fastest-growing economies during much of the past decade, and they remain primary contributors to future growth in world energy demand.
World industrial sector energy use was forecast to increase by more than 30 percent between 2018 and 2050 as consumption of goods increases.
The industrial sector, which includes refining, mining, manufacturing, agriculture, and construction, accounts for the largest share of energy consumption of any end-use sector.
Transportation energy consumption was forecast to increase by nearly 40 percent between 2018 and 2050. This increase is largely driven by non-OECD countries, where transportation energy consumption was forecast to increase nearly 80 percent between 2018 and 2050.
According to the outlook, the growth in end-use consumption results in a 79 percent hike in electricity generation between 2018 and 2050. Electricity use also increases in the transportation sector as plug-in electric vehicles enter the fleet and electricity use for rail expands.
With the rapid growth of electricity generation, renewables, including solar, wind, and hydroelectric power, are the fastest-growing energy source between 2018 and 2050, surpassing petroleum and other liquids to become the most used energy source.
Worldwide renewable energy consumption is forecast to increase by 3.1 percent per year between 2018 and 2050, compared with 0.6 percent annual growth in petroleum and other liquids, 0.4 percent growth in coal, and 1.1 percent annual growth in natural gas consumption.
