High income | Electricity production from coal sources (% of total)
Sources of electricity refer to the inputs used to generate electricity. Coal refers to all coal and brown coal, both primary (including hard coal and lignite-brown coal) and derived fuels (including patent fuel, coke oven coke, gas coke, coke oven gas, and blast furnace gas). Peat is also included in this category. Development relevance: Since the beginning of the 21st century, coal has been the fastest-growing global energy source; it currently provides about 40 percent of the world's electricity needs. Coal is the second source of primary energy in the world after oil, and the first source of electricity generation.. The last decade's growth in coal use has been driven by the economic growth of developing economies, mainly China. Irrespective of its economic benefits for the countries, the environmental impact of coal use, especially that coming from carbon dioxide emissions, is significant, and efforts are underway globally to build more efficient plants, to retrofit old plants and to decommission the oldest and least efficient coal plants. Use of energy is important in improving people's standard of living. But electricity generation also can damage the environment. Whether such damage occurs depends largely on how electricity is generated. For example, burning coal releases twice as much carbon dioxide - a major contributor to global warming - as does burning an equivalent amount of natural gas. Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions result primarily from fossil fuel combustion and cement manufacturing. In combustion different fossil fuels release different amounts of carbon dioxide for the same level of energy use: oil releases about 50 percent more carbon dioxide than natural gas, and coal releases about twice as much. Nuclear energy does not generate carbon dioxide emissions, but it produces other dangerous waste products. Limitations and exceptions: IEA occasionally revises its time series to reflect political changes. For example, the IEA has constructed historical energy statistics for countries of the former Soviet Union. In addition, energy statistics for other countries have undergone continuous changes in coverage or methodology in recent years as more detailed energy accounts have become available. Breaks in series are therefore unavoidable. Statistical concept and methodology: Electricity production is total number of kWh generated by power plants separated into electricity plants and CHP plants. The International Energy Agency (IEA) compiles data on energy inputs used to generate electricity. IEA data for countries that are not members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are based on national energy data adjusted to conform to annual questionnaires completed by OECD member governments. In addition, estimates are sometimes made to complete major aggregates from which key data are missing, and adjustments are made to compensate for differences in definitions. The IEA makes these estimates in consultation with national statistical offices, oil companies, electric utilities, and national energy experts.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
High income
Records
63
Source
High income | Electricity production from coal sources (% of total)
45.9043448 1960
45.73079373 1961
46.4111716 1962
46.59952325 1963
46.10258822 1964
45.59604341 1965
44.54084189 1966
44.29787384 1967
43.79108283 1968
41.55800164 1969
39.31007823 1970
38.85273819 1971
37.07209789 1972
37.26398552 1973
35.6765359 1974
36.02694076 1975
37.53642409 1976
37.30193648 1977
36.23502904 1978
37.70631219 1979
40.09504628 1980
40.27828281 1981
41.13544393 1982
41.71768254 1983
41.12391 1984
41.95010428 1985
41.35467464 1986
41.63009494 1987
41.40912408 1988
40.34818939 1989
39.44135034 1990
39.08457905 1991
38.84857236 1992
38.5603223 1993
37.98523456 1994
37.53830256 1995
38.0513119 1996
38.00040856 1997
37.92835782 1998
37.30777342 1999
38.28077761 2000
37.68701181 2001
37.56454755 2002
38.27961726 2003
37.36502258 2004
37.09990795 2005
36.76048325 2006
36.43764243 2007
35.57484333 2008
33.77538248 2009
33.44675009 2010
32.6381826 2011
31.37304298 2012
31.70022431 2013
31.00464191 2014
28.5835646 2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
High income | Electricity production from coal sources (% of total)
Sources of electricity refer to the inputs used to generate electricity. Coal refers to all coal and brown coal, both primary (including hard coal and lignite-brown coal) and derived fuels (including patent fuel, coke oven coke, gas coke, coke oven gas, and blast furnace gas). Peat is also included in this category. Development relevance: Since the beginning of the 21st century, coal has been the fastest-growing global energy source; it currently provides about 40 percent of the world's electricity needs. Coal is the second source of primary energy in the world after oil, and the first source of electricity generation.. The last decade's growth in coal use has been driven by the economic growth of developing economies, mainly China. Irrespective of its economic benefits for the countries, the environmental impact of coal use, especially that coming from carbon dioxide emissions, is significant, and efforts are underway globally to build more efficient plants, to retrofit old plants and to decommission the oldest and least efficient coal plants. Use of energy is important in improving people's standard of living. But electricity generation also can damage the environment. Whether such damage occurs depends largely on how electricity is generated. For example, burning coal releases twice as much carbon dioxide - a major contributor to global warming - as does burning an equivalent amount of natural gas. Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions result primarily from fossil fuel combustion and cement manufacturing. In combustion different fossil fuels release different amounts of carbon dioxide for the same level of energy use: oil releases about 50 percent more carbon dioxide than natural gas, and coal releases about twice as much. Nuclear energy does not generate carbon dioxide emissions, but it produces other dangerous waste products. Limitations and exceptions: IEA occasionally revises its time series to reflect political changes. For example, the IEA has constructed historical energy statistics for countries of the former Soviet Union. In addition, energy statistics for other countries have undergone continuous changes in coverage or methodology in recent years as more detailed energy accounts have become available. Breaks in series are therefore unavoidable. Statistical concept and methodology: Electricity production is total number of kWh generated by power plants separated into electricity plants and CHP plants. The International Energy Agency (IEA) compiles data on energy inputs used to generate electricity. IEA data for countries that are not members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are based on national energy data adjusted to conform to annual questionnaires completed by OECD member governments. In addition, estimates are sometimes made to complete major aggregates from which key data are missing, and adjustments are made to compensate for differences in definitions. The IEA makes these estimates in consultation with national statistical offices, oil companies, electric utilities, and national energy experts.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
High income
Records
63
Source