India to pip EU as world’s 3rd largest power consumer by 2040: IEA

NEW DELHI: India will dislodge the European Union as the world’s third-largest energy consumer by 2030 as urbanised population expands and rapid economic growth pulls more people out of poverty, says the International Energy Agency’s second ‘India Energy Outlook’ released on Tuesday.
By 2040, India’s electricity system will be larger than the EU in terms of generation capacity and the country will have more renewable capacity than the US.
The country will contribute 25% of the global growth in energy demand through 2040, posting the largest increase for any country, “underpinned by a rate of GDP growth that adds the equivalent of another Japan by 2040,” the report says.
But this will also pose twin challenges of securing energy supplies and meeting the “swelling demand without exacerbating issues like costly energy imports, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions”.