What is it about?
This paper analyses the long-term evolution of global electricity efficiency between 1900 and 2017. It reconstructs historical trends in electricity generation and conversion to examine how average efficiency has changed over time and identifies the factors behind periods of improvement and stagnation.
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Why is it important?
Electricity is expected to play a central role in the energy transition, but the benefits of electrification depend on the efficiency of power generation and electricity use. By providing a long-run empirical assessment of global electricity efficiency and showing that improvements have slowed in recent decades, the study offers important insights for evaluating the implications of expanding electricity demand in a renewables-based energy system.
Perspectives
This paper is part of the project World Primary-Final-Useful (WPFU) Energy and Exergy Database from 1800 to 2020 The WPFU project develops a long-run global database of primary, final and useful energy and exergy flows across sectors and technologies. The database reconstructs energy conversion chains over the last two centuries in order to analyse technological transitions, efficiency improvements, and the evolution of energy services. By combining historical energy data with societal exergy analysis, the project enables researchers to study the relationships between energy use, efficiency, economic development, and long-term energy transitions. Related papers: Pinto, R., Brockway, P.E., Domingos, T., Sousa, T, 2026. Long run electricity consumption in computing: exponential growth followed by stabilisation due to efficiency gains. iScience, 114876 Tostes, B., Henriques, S., Heun, M. K., T., Brockway, P. B. and Sousa, T, 2025. Global Transport Emissions 1850–2020: Historical Drivers and Lessons for Transport Decarbonization. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 148, 104998. Tostes, B., Heun, M. K., Henriques, S. T., Brockway, P. B. and Sousa, T, 2025. Insights from the evolution of transport technologies, 1800-2020: Energy use, transitions, and efficiency. Applied Energy, 401, Part A, 126561. Tostes, B., Henriques, S. T., Brockway, P. E., Heun, M. K., Domingos, T., Sousa, T, 2024. On the right track? Energy use, carbon emissions, and intensities of world rail transportation, 1840–2020, Applied Energy, 367, 123344. Pinto, R., Henriques, S.T., Brockway, P.E., Heun, M. K., Sousa, T, 2023. The rise and stall of world electricity efficiency: 1900–2017, results and insights for the renewables transition. Energy, 269, 126775. Steenwyk, P., Heun, M. K., Brockway, P.E., Sousa, T, Henriques, S.T, 2022. The Contributions of muscle and machine work to land and labor productivity in world agriculture since 1800. Biophysical Economics and Sustainability, 7: 2.
Assistant Professor Tânia A. Sousa
Instituto Superior Técnico
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The rise and stall of world electricity efficiency:1900–2017, results and insights for the renewables transition, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Energy, April 2023, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2023.126775.
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