How much of world energy consumption and production is from renewable energy?
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) publishes modeled projections and analysis for world consumption and production of renewable energy (and other types of fuel/energy sources) in the International Energy Outlook (IEO). The IEO includes projections for the world and for country groups, geographic regions, and selected countries.
There are figures (charts) that include world renewable energy use from 1990 to 2015 and projections out to 2040 in the Executive summary.
- Figure 2: Total world energy consumption by energy source
- Figure 6: World net electricity generation by energy source
The tables of the IEO have projections out to 2050 for renewable energy consumption, production of liquid fuels from renewable sources, and generation of electricity from renewable energy sources.
Renewable energy share of total world energy consumption, liquid fuels production, and electricity generation in the IEO 2017 Reference case
| 2015 | 2020 | 2035 | 2050 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy consumption1 | 12.5% | 13.7% | 16.9% | 18.0% |
| Liquid fuels production2 | 2.2% | 2.4% | 2.9% | 2.8% |
| Electricity generation3 | 21.0% | 23.7% | 28.9% | 29.8% |
1 See Table F1
2 See Tables G1 and G3
3 See Tables H12 and H17
Learn more:
International energy statistics (historical data for the world, regions, and countries)
Last updated: September 15, 2017
Other FAQs about Renewables
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- How much ethanol is produced, imported, exported, and consumed in the United States?
- How much of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are associated with electricity generation?
- How much of U.S. energy consumption and electricity generation comes from renewable energy sources?
- How much of world energy consumption and production is from renewable energy?
- What is U.S. electricity generation by energy source?