25 February 2025 News By 2027, electricity consumption will grow by an average of about 4% per year due to increased usage in industry, air conditioning, electrification, and data centers. This forecast was made by analysts of the International Energy Agency. China's electricity consumption increased by 7% in 2024, and is expected to grow by about 6% on average through 2027. The growth in demand in China is partly driven by the industrial sector, where, along with traditional energy-intensive industries, the rapidly growing production of solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles and related materials, which requires a large amount of electricity, has played a significant role. Additional factors include air conditioning, the proliferation of electric vehicles, data centers, and 5G networks. "The accelerating growth in global electricity demand highlights the significant changes taking place in energy systems around the world and the approach of a new era of electricity. But it also poses new challenges for governments in ensuring reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity supply," said Keisuke Sadamori, IEA Director for Energy Markets and Security. — Although developing countries will account for most of the growth in global electricity demand in the coming years, consumption is also expected to increase in many advanced economies after a period of relative stagnation. Policy makers need to pay close attention to these changes, which will be discussed at the international summit on the future of energy security, which the IEA, together with the UK government, is hosting in London in April. " According to a new report, the growth in electricity production from low— emission sources — primarily from renewable sources and nuclear power plants - is collectively sufficient to cover the entire growth in global electricity demand over the next three years. In particular, the production of electricity from solar photovoltaics is projected to cover approximately half of the growth in global electricity demand by 2027 due to continued cost reductions and government support. In 2024, the production of electricity from solar photovoltaics in the European Union exceeded the production of electricity from coal, and the share of solar panels in the energy mix exceeded 10%. In China, the United States and India, the share of solar energy in annual electricity production is expected to reach 10% between 2022 and 2027. At the same time, nuclear power is steadily returning, and from 2025 and during the forecast period, electricity production at nuclear power plants will increase annually. As a result of these projected trends, global carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation are expected to stabilize in the coming years after rising by about 1% in 2024. The report examines some of the major challenges facing electricity supply systems in 2024, including winter storms in the United States, hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, power outages caused by extreme weather conditions in Brazil and Australia, and droughts reducing hydroelectric power generation in Ecuador, Colombia, and Mexico. The report notes that these developments highlight the importance of ensuring greater sustainability of power supply systems. It also examines the critical role of weather conditions for electric power systems and the increasing volatility of wholesale electricity prices in some regions, indicating a growing need for system flexibility. Negative wholesale electricity prices have become more frequent in some energy markets, although they are still relatively rare worldwide. Such cases generally indicate a lack of flexibility of the system for technical, regulatory or contractual reasons. Source: Russian Energy and Industry