World Energy Consumption by Fuel

For all the stories about renewable energy these past few years (the "lost decade"), and then all the stories about coal-powered cars this past year, one would get the impression that ten years' worth of subsidies, grants, and tax breaks for the renewable energy business (wind and solar) has resulted in great strides.

For a look at the raw data compiled for the years 1965 - 2009, click on statistical review of world energy, 2010.

Near the top, on the left side is a downloadable Excel spreadsheet that breaks out energy consumption for those years by type of energy.

The amount of energy generated worldwide, including the US, was so low that it was either unmeasurable or it was a rounding error. The sources of energy measured were: oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear energy and hydroelectric power.

For the most recent year in which data is available, 2009, the amount of energy used, in million tonnes of oil equivalent, this is the breakdown (figures rounded):

• Oil: 843 (39 percent)
• Natural gas: 589 (27 percent)
• Coal: 498 (23 percent)
• Nuclear energy: 190 (9 percent)
• Hydroelectric: 62 (3 percent)
• Total: 2,182 million tonnes of oil equivalent

On other spreadsheets at that site, data on renewable energy is provided, but it is only a percentage of each country's contribution to worldwide use. For example, Germany has 44 percent of the world's installed wind capacity.

But 44 percent of zero is still zero.

Again, don't confuse facts with investing. Wall Street and individual investors can still make a lot of money by investing in renewable energy companies. It's just that it will be a very long time before renewable energy makes a statistical difference in energy consumption/production around the world.

[Note: that last paragraph is an opinion, not advice. I am not advising readers to invest or not invest in renewable energy.]

And, of course we've all seen how the "green energy" revolution helped Spain.