What is the approximate electrical energy consumption of the entire world?
In 2004, the worldwide energy consumption of the human race was on average 15 TW (= 1012 W) with 86.5% from burning fossil fuels.[1] This is equivalent to 471,000 PJ (= 1015 J) per year. As shown by the difference between the first two images in this article, there is at least 10% uncertainty in the world’s energy consumption. Not all of the world’s economies track their energy consumption with the same rigor and the exact energy content of a barrel of oil or a ton of coal will vary with their quality. The remaining worldwide energy resources are large, with the remaining fossil fuels totaling an estimated 400 ZJ and the available nuclear fuel such as uranium exceeding 2.5 YJ (1 YJ = 1024J).
