Renewables to grow fast, but fossil fuels to rule till 2040, EIA projects

Renewables will be the fastest growing energy source globally between 2015 and 2040, with consumption rising at an average rate of 2.3% per year, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA)'s latest International Energy Outlook 2017.

Consumption of all other energy sources is expected to increase in the period, except for coal, whose demand is expected to remain flat. Renewables will be followed by nuclear, which will see a rise of 1.5% per year, and natural gas with 1.4%.

The world's total energy consumption will increase by 28% from 2015 to 2040, with Asian countries that are not in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) accounting for over 60% of the rise.

Even as renewables and nuclear are expected to expand faster than other sources, fossil fuels will remain the dominant form of energy, accounting for more than three-quarters of global energy usages through 2040, according to the outlook. The largest energy sources will still be liquid fuels, mostly petroleum-based, although their share of global consumption will decline slightly to 31% in 2040 from 33% in 2015.

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