Page 14 - Fundamentals of Ocean Renewable Energy Generating Electricity From The Sea

6 Fundamentals of Ocean Renewable Energy

FIG. 1.6 Global and regional coal consumption 1965–2015. Mtoe is million tonnes oil equivalent.
(Data from British Petroleum, BP Statistical Review of World Energy, British Petroleum, London,
2016.)

2015 [3]. The three largest consumers of coal at present are China (50% of
world consumption in 2015), India (10.6%), and the United States (10.3%).
Most notable has been the rapid growth in China, since 2002, towards their
2
current position as a major coal consumer. This corresponds with the rapid
economic expansion of China (and India) over the last two decades—such
economic expansion requires the rapid development of electricity generators. A
coal-fired power station takes around 4 years to build, compared with a nuclear
power plant, which takes around 5–7 years. Therefore, coal-fired power stations
represent a relatively quick, albeit unsustainable, means to increase electricity
generating capacity, particularly when a local source of fuel is abundant.
Examining temporal trends in the renewable energy sector in more detail,
specifically hydroelectricity, solar, and wind, we see that there has been a
relatively steady rise in hydroelectricity consumption over the last 50 years,
characterized by more recent (2000 onward) accelerated consumption (Fig. 1.7).
In 1965, global hydroelectric power consumption was around 1000 TWh, and

2. On a more sustainable note, China is currently the World’s second largest consumer of wind
energy, with a global share of 20% in 2015 (the largest is the United States, with a share of
20.3%).