Global Electricity Consumption With Great Reader Comment -- June 20, 2020

Updates

Later, 4:39 p.m. CDT: with regard to growing global electricity demand what will power that supply?

A reader, providing an incredibly good reply, suggests there is a confluence of several factors that are very rapidly impacting global energy paradigms, economics, industrial activities, and geopolitics at the very highest levels.

Starting with the relatively recent introduction of CCGPs (Combined Cycle Gas Plants) ... These ultra efficient units consume little to no fuel during the 10/12 'slow' hours of the day, only to then ramp up within a few minutes to provide needed (and high revenue producing) power during the late morning and early evening 'rush hours'. These plants have VERY low operational costs. A just opened 1,000 Mw plant outside Pittsburgh employs only 23 full time workers.

The fuel for these plants that are being deployed on a global scale ranging from Brazil (northern and southern), Jamaica, Bangladesh, Croatia, Pakistan (world's busiest FSRU) is natgas that has been liquefied (LNG), transported on ships that burn the Boil Off Gas for fuel (practically free fuel), and then delivered/stored/vaporized in floating structures called Floating Storage and Regassifying Units (FSRUs).

Both Thailand and the Philippines are going to emplace FSRUs as their domestic, conventional supplies deplete.

The massive projects just announced between Exxon and Vietnam will join the already announced construction of huge power plants by which Vietnam expects to capture much of the future manufacturing fleeing China.

As the cost of Asian LNG is currently in the $3/$4 mmbtu range (WAY cheaper than Siberian piped gas), cheap, abundant fuel supplies are anticipated for decades to come to enable these - and many other - ambitious projects to continue to flourish.

Original Post

This report is an incredibly interesting report. One needs to spend some time on it.

Re-posting:

Global electricity demand growing faster than population: link here. Previously posted, but not sure if I included that link. Also, great graphics at this link.

Global consumption:

Some comments:

• it appears GDP per capita increased by a similar amount, on a percentage basis, for most of these countries; about 20% over eight years, 2000 - 2017, inclusive;
• what is most remarkable is the fact that per capita GDP for the US is so much greater than Germany and Japan and the US kept up the pace since 2000;
• also most interesting is that per capita electricity demand decreased ever so slightly over the eight years for the US, Germany but apparently NOT for Japan; 
• for all the bad press Russia gets, it appears to be doing quite well, based on percentage change;
• for all the "great" press China gets, it is amazing how far it lags, both in per capita GDP and per capital electricity demand; India? even worse;
• it is interesting to see where Mexico falls; much worse than both China, Russia
• this only goes through 2017; the number absolute numbers will change remarkably for the years 2020 - 2022; but the relative changes will not be that great, they may not change at all; it's quite possible, that the US will out-pace all the rest
• Russia: too dependent on oil compared to the US;
• Germany, Japan could be effected by black swan events in 2020 much more so than the US;

For US investors: this appears to be an open-book test.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, career, travel, job, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

Another link here.

And, still, yet another link: