Cooperation and International Efficiency

 

Tuesday, April 09, 2013 12:22 PM
By: Elizabeth Cutright

While energy consumed by the manufacturing sector in the US dropped by 17% between 2002 and 2010 (according to a report released by the Energy Information Administration last month), in Asia it’s a slightly different story.

According to a report released by the Asia Development Bank (ADB), due to the continent’s exponentially expanding energy demand, Asia may—as Bloomberg reports—“account for 44 percent of global GDP by 2035 and consume more than 51 percent of its energy.”  

“Asia could be consuming more than half the world's energy supply by 2035, and without radical changes carbon dioxide emissions will double,” said ADB Chief Economist Changyong Rhee in a statement about the report. “Asia must both contain rising demand and explore cleaner energy options, which will require creativity and resolve, with policymakers having to grapple with politically difficult issues like fuel subsidies and regional energy market integration.” 

The report warns that a failure to reduce reliance on fossil fuels could result in the emission of 20 billion metric tons of greenhouse gasses by 2035. And growing demand for fossil fuels could make the region “more vulnerable to shocks for geopolitical tensions.” 

And while the ADB report acknowledges the continent’s strides in terms of renewable energy—wind generation has risen to 82 gigawatts, and solar generation is now 20 gigawatts—those alternatives will not be enough. As Bloomberg reports, “even after generating more energy from renewable and nuclear sources, oil imports would have to rise from the current 11 million barrels a day to more than 30 million barrels per day by 2035” in order to meet anticipated demand.

Further complicating the issue is Asia limited indigenous energy resources. This is a region where “1.8 billion people still rely on wood and other traditional fuel as their primary energy source” (www.utilityproducts.com/news/2013/04/09/asia-s-future-prosperity-requires-major-change-in-energy-use.html). And while shale gas could help supplement supplies, in a region whose environmental resources are already heartbreakingly compromised by unchecked industrial development, uncertainties about the impacts of fracking on water resources limits the attractiveness of that solution. Similarly, events like the Fukushima have tainted the promise of nuclear power generation for many in the region. 

The report suggests that China revisit its current subsidies in order to “suss out” what’s working and what’s contributing to inefficient power generation. Additionally, in an area where countries of unequal ability are bonded by geography, the ADB report warns that “cross-border interconnection of power and gas grids” must be improved in order to increase efficiency and reduce costs.  

But according to the ADB, the real key is increased cooperation, which the report’s authors believe could help the pan-Asia region meet all of its energy demand by 2030


  • © Copyright 1996-2013 Forester Media, Inc.

  • http://www.distributedenergy.com/DE/Blogs/1642.aspx