The electricity sector is experiencing profound changes linked to the energy transition and the decarbonisation themes, with Italy and Europe playing a central role. The global energy demand increased by 4% (equal to about +900,000 GWh) in 2018 compared to the previous year: this was the highest growth rate since 2010. RES had the biggest growth compared to the other sources. However, the electricity production by coal and gas increased as well, inducing a 2.5% increase of the CO2 emissions in the electricity sector worldwide. The CO2 emissions in the electrical energy generation were about 13 Gt, equivalent to about 38% of the overall CO2 emissions in the energy sector. The global electrical energy production was 26,673,000 GWh in 2018 (Italy represented about 1.1%): the electricity production by coal represented the biggest share with 38% of the total, followed by gas (23%) and hydro (16%).
Globally, RES represented about 26% of the total production in 2018 compared to about 18% in 2000. Looking at the comparison between the energy production mix in 2018 and 2000 it is evident that coal is stable, whereas gas went from 18% to 23% in 2018. Wind and PV were almost non-existent in 2000 and they grew to 5% and 2% of the total electricity production respectively in 2018. Electricity production by oil showed a significant decrease, going from 8% to 3%.
In 2018, PV showed the biggest percent increase (31%), followed by wind (12%) and bioenergy (7%). However, coal also had a significant increase, equal to 3%.
This article is an extract from the report titled “Electrical Energy: the Italian and the international landscapes”, written by the European Affairs and Studies area of Elettricità Futura (EF). This is available in the newly created section of the EF website called “Europe”, available both in Italian and English.
