Reality → Energy → World energy
In 2023, the world used about 610 EJ (exajoules) [1] of energy, of which 86% as primary, non-renewable, and 'dirty' fossil fuel (coal, gas, and oil), 8% as biomass [2] , 5% directly as electricity generated from hydro, wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable energy sources, and 2% as non-renewable but ‘clean’ nuclear energy. The fossil fuel was used as follows: about one third for conversion into electricity (with most of the input energy released as waste heat), about one quarter as liquid and gaseous fuel in the transportation sector, and the remainder mainly for heating and processing in industry and households.
| Energy use (EJ) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| electricity | transport | other | total | ||
| oil | 6 * | 114 | 70 | 190 | 31% |
| coal | 108 * | 72 | 180 | 30% | |
| gas | 54 * | 5 | 96 | 150 | 25% |
| biomass | 2 | 4 | 40 | 46 | 8% |
| renewables | 32 ** | 32 | 5% | ||
| nuclear | 10 ** | 10 | 2% | ||
| total | 213 | 119 | 277 | 609 | 100% |
| 32% | 22% | 46% | |||
| * primary energy | |||||
| ** final energy | |||||
610 EJ (trillion trillion joules) is the energy contained in the total of about 9 billion tons of coal, 4 billion tons of oil, maybe some 3 billion tons of raw biomass, 4 trillion cubic meters of gas, 9 PetaWh of electricity from renewable sources, and about 3 PWh of nuclear power (see Sheet). These rounded figures are estimates derived from data published by EI (Energy Institute) and REN21.
It is estimated that maybe about 25 EJ of primary energy are consumed for heating and cooking (burning roughly 2 billion m3 wood and charcoal), 5 EJ of final energy as liquid biofuels (about 100 mio.m3 of ethanol and 50 mio.m3 of biodiesel) recovered from maybe as much as 3 billion m3 harvested biomass, and about 2 EJ of electricity, mainly recovered as a byproduct from processing crops and waste or generated from wood pellets and chips.