A report from the World Energy Council says there is a greater abundance of energy resources globally today than at any other time, with the nuclear share of total global electricity production reaching 13.5 percent in 2012. The report was released during the World Energy Congress in Daegu, Korea.
According to “World Energy Resources 2013,” global energy reserves are sufficient to meet even a significant upturn in demand for decades to come, thanks to improved energy production and conversion technologies.
Total identified uranium resources have grown by 12.5 percent since 2008 and are sufficient for more than 100 years of supply based on current requirements, the report said.
Fossil fuels provide 80 percent of the world’s energy, while new renewables provide about 1.5 percent. Fossil fuels also provide two-thirds of the world’s electricity production, and nuclear supplied 13.5 percent in 2012. New renewables supply around 5 percent.
The report says that the increase of renewables is not enough to cover the loss of nuclear energy around the world. Nuclear energy faces an uncertain future since the 2011 Fukushima accident stalled the so-called nuclear renaissance. Also, despite their exponential growth in development over the past few years, renewable sources have developed slower than was expected 20 years ago.
Unconventional gas and reassessing reserves will help the amount of natural gas worldwide to increase.
To read the entire report, click here.
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