Analysis of power structure of countries in the world

Electricity comes from primary sources. Primary energy can be divided into two categories according to whether it can be renewable:

(1) Non-renewable energy. It refers to the natural energy that cannot be produced repeatedly, which is becoming less and less with the use of human beings, such as fossil energy (such as coal, oil, natural gas) and nuclear fuel (such as uranium, thorium, etc.).

(2) Renewable energy. Refers to the natural energy that can be produced repeatedly, that is, it will not be reduced with its own transformation or human utilization, such as solar energy, water energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, ocean energy, biomass energy, tidal energy, etc.

Energy structure refers to the proportion of primary energy production or consumption, expressed in %; The power mix refers to the proportion of electricity from primary sources, also expressed in %. Due to the different geographical locations of countries, the degree of resource wealth is different, and even far apart, which constitutes the power structure of different countries in the world.

This data is calculated based on the data reported by BP in 2022. At present, the global energy is in an era of transition, and the carbon zero emission energy is in the rising stage, and the carbon zero emission degree is composed of (nuclear + hydropower + renewable energy + other)/ total, expressed in %.

The fossil fuels mentioned in this paper are composed of crude oil, natural gas and raw coal. Non-renewable energy sources consist of fossil and nuclear fuels. Green energy consists of hydropower, renewable energy and others. "Other" means pumped storage, urban waste power generation, etc.

World electricity structure by country in 2021

Global fossil fuel power generation is still dominant (2.5+22.9+36.0)=61.4%, of which coal-fired power generation is low cost, occupying the dominant position in the power market.

As can be seen from the table, coal-fired power generation is still increasing year by year, but the percentage of coal-fired power generation in the total global power generation is decreasing year by year. The reason for this is that nuclear power generation and renewable power generation are increasing year by year and squeezing out the percentage of coal generation.

The percentage of global electricity generation generated by coal is declining year by year

(2) Due to the different geographical locations, the order of energy generation is not the same:

The order of global power generation: coal-fired power generation, gas-fired power generation and hydroelectric power generation;

(2) China: coal-fired power generation, hydroelectric power generation and renewable energy generation;

United States: gas-fired power generation, coal-fired power generation and nuclear power generation.

(3) Renewable energy generation is dominated by hydropower, followed by wind power and photovoltaic power generation, whose prices are already comparable to fossil fuel power generation.

(4) The United States has a higher level of zero carbon emissions (38.9%) than China (34.1%), because the United States ranks first in the world in nuclear power generation. If you leave out nuclear power, China generates more electricity from renewable sources than the United States. See "The Great Game between China and the United States in Installed Renewable Energy Capacity".

(5) Countries with carbon zero emissions higher than the world average of 38.5% are Canada 81.7%, Brazil 79.6%, Ukraine (69.2%), Spain (69.6%), Germany (56.1%).

(6) China is not a large country of raw coal resources, its recoverable reserves are much lower than the United States and Russia, but China is a large country of coal-fired power generation, the global coal-fired power generation in 2021 reached 10244.0TWh, China is up to 5339.1 TWh, accounting for 5339.1/10244.0=52.1% of the global total. The largest coal-fired Power Station in the world is in China - Tuoketuo Power Station with an installed capacity of 6,720 MW. The next largest coal-fired power generation countries are the United States 078.5TWh, Germany 162.6TWh, South Africa 209.6 TWh, Russia 204.7TWh, Poland 131.7 TWh, and South Korea 211. 7TWh(see BP 2022 report).

Coal power generation dominates the global power generation share with 10244.0/28466.3=36.0%. The countries above 36.0% are 85.4% in South Africa, 73.2% in Poland, 74.1% in India, 62.6% in China, 60.6% in Kazakhstan, 51.4% in Australia and 61.4% in Indonesia. (See BP 2022 report).

(8) The Asia-Pacific region is the region with the highest coal-fired power generation, accounting for 56.9% of the region's power generation share.

The success of shale gas exploitation in the United States has aroused the world's attention and a voice of praise. While coal-fired power generation remains high in many countries, the share of electricity generated by gas in the United States has surpassed that of coal. The United States fossil fuel power generation 0.5+38.4+22.2=61.1%, equivalent to the world average of 62.0%, the United States does not show the pace of renewable energy, delayed the development of renewable energy power generation.

(10) Natural gas is not a clean energy source, it is one of the fossil fuels, and has a clear regional pattern, but the shipping form of natural gas, LNG, has broken the regional pattern, making natural gas a global bulk trade commodity; The international trade of electricity has a strong regional, there is no data to support the "globalization of electricity", "electricity will become the main form of energy trade".

(11) According to the BP2022 report, the global natural gas production in 2021 will be 4,036.9 billion cubic meters, with the highest production of the United States 934.2 billion cubic meters, Russia 701.7 billion cubic meters, and Iran 256.7 billion cubic meters.

Global gas-fired power generation is higher than oil-fired power generation and lower than coal-fired power generation, ranking second in the global power structure. Gas-fired power generation accounts for an average of 22.9% of global power generation, with Iran accounting for 80.6%, Russia 42.9%, and the United States 38.4%.

(12) Although energy has entered the "carbon neutral era", but oil is still widely used, oil is used too much, so many energy sources can replace fuel power generation, so the share of fuel power generation in the global fossil fuel power generation is at least 2.5%. Saudi Arabia is rich in crude Oil production and has the world's largest oil field, the Ghawar Oil field. Saudi Arabia has the largest share of global oil-fired power generation at 39.2%. It also owns the world's largest oil-fired power plant, the Shoaiba power and desalination plant, with an installed capacity of 5,600MW.

Nuclear power accounts for 9.8% of the world's electricity generation. In 2021, the total amount of nuclear power generation in the world will be 2800.3 TWh, of which the United States will be 819.1TWh, accounting for 819.1/2800.3=29.3% of the global total. China's 407.5TWh ranked second, accounting for 407.5/2800.3=14.6% of the global total, followed by Russia's 222.4TWh, South Korea's 158.0TWh, Canada's 92.0TWh, Ukraine's 86.2TWh, the United Kingdom's 45.9TWh and Japan's 61.2TWh. However, in terms of the share of electricity generation in the country, Ukraine has the highest share, accounting for 55.4%, followed by South Korea 26.3%.

China's Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant has become the 17th largest power station in the world, with an installed capacity of 6,710MW.

⒂ hydropower is the "leader" in renewable energy generation, accounting for 15.0% of global power generation; After coal power generation 36.0% and gas power generation 22.9%.

⒃ The countries with the highest hydropower capacity are China 1300.0TWh, Brazil 362.8TWh, Canada 380.8 TWh, the United States 257.7 TWh and Russia 214.5 TWh; However, the domestic share is 55.4% in Brazil, 59.4% in Canada, 18.5% in Russia, 15.2% in China, and 5.8% in the United States. Only Canada and Brazil have the highest.

The region with the highest share of hydropower generation is Central and South America, accounting for 48.4 percent of the continent's total electricity generation, and the continent's electricity is carbon free at 67.1 percent.

⒅ Wind farms and photovoltaics are developing the fastest among renewable energy sources, and their prices have been accepted by users. Based on the BP 2022 report, the following table is derived. China is making rapid progress in wind and photovoltaic power generation, accounting for 27.4 percent of the global total in 2021, compared with 17.1 percent in the United States over the same period.