ByIrina Slav– Feb 14, 2025, 2:30 AM CST
Global demand for electricity is set to grow at an annual rate of 4% in the years to 2027, the International Energy Agency has forecast in a new report, noting this would be the fastest growth rate in recent years.
“The surge is primarily driven by robust growing use of electricity for industrial production, increased demand for air conditioning, accelerating electrification, led by the transport sector, and the rapid expansion of data centres,” the International Energy Agency said.
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The agency then went on to say that most of this stronger demand growth will come from developing nations, estimating their contribution to the total at 85%. The sure, unsurprisingly, will be led by China, whose electricity demand has been growing faster than its economy since 2020, the IEA said.
In China, electricity demand last year grew at a rate of 7% and the annual growth rate through 2027 could average 6%, the report said, noting that the strong growth in recent years was driven by the industrial sector and more specifically “the rapidly expanding electricity-intensive manufacturing of solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles and associated materials.”
“The acceleration of global electricity demand highlights the significant changes taking place in energy systems around the world and the approach of a new Age of Electricity. But it also presents evolving challenges for governments in ensuring secure, affordable and sustainable electricity supply,” IEA chief Fatih Birol said in comments on the data.
The IEA is adamant in its predictions that the electrification of transport driven by energy transition policies is going without many hitches and will fuel a surge in overall electricity demand but there is reason to take these predictions with a pinch of salt.
China, the world’s biggest electric car market, for one, is seeing a decline in EV sales in favor of hybrids, while other pro-transition governments have been struggling to get their EV domination plans off the ground.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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