Statistical Review of World Energy 2025

The 74^th annual edition of the Statistical Review of World Energy is now available.

KPMG, in collaboration with the Energy Institute (EI), presents the annual Statistical Review of World Energy. This report offers in-depth analysis of global energy production, consumption, and emissions, providing valuable insights into the evolving energy landscape.

The Statistical Review serves as a trusted resource for energy professionals, policymakers, and researchers, delivering objective data to inform strategic decisions and policy development. It examines key trends shaping the energy sector, including the growth of renewable energy sources, shifts in fossil fuel consumption, and the impacts of geopolitical events on energy markets.

By exploring the dynamics of the global energy system, the report contributes to a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities in achieving a sustainable and secure energy future.

The Energy Institute’s 2025 Statistical Review of World Energy showcases Ireland’s success in decarbonising its energy system in 2024, alongside highlighting many challenges that remain to be addressed.

Ireland’s energy sector had a somewhat paradoxical year in 2024. Strong economic growth and supportive renewable energy policies, including the closure of the country’s sole coal fired power station, resulted in a sustained decrease in emissions despite a strong growth in energy demand.

However, a number of key challenges remain to be addressed including security of supply concerns, rising electricity prices, and difficulties delivering major infrastructure projects.

The Temporary Emergency Generation Programme (TEGP), initially budgeted at €400m to address security of supply concerns, is now expected to cost €1.3bn, while a planned Floating Regasification Storage Unit (FRSU) to facilitate LNG imports is estimated to cost an additional €900m.

Industry and households alike are considering the proposed increase in grid charges currently under consultation as part of PR6 and which are intended to enable significant investment in additional grid capacity, upgrades, and resilience between 2026 and 2030.

This is against a backdrop of the European Commission issuing a formal notice to Ireland and other member states on breaching the Methane Regulation (EU) 2024/1787 by failing to appoint, and notify to the Commission of, a competent authority responsible for monitoring and enforcing the application of the rules.

Separately, the Commission also issued a note to Ireland and other EU member states to fully transpose EU rules accelerating permitting procedures for renewable energy projects.

Domestic electricity demand rose by 4.1% in 2024, while the share of renewable generation decreased marginally from 40.7% in 2023 to 39.6% in 2024. 

Electricity imports via interconnectors were the third largest source of supply, contributing 14% of the mix. The €1bn Celtic Interconnector project, now delayed to spring 2028, will provide crucial electricity import capacity to meet our rapidly expanding electricity demand.

2024 saw a 71% increase in solar power production, outpacing the growth of all other renewable technologies and serving 3% of electricity demand. Ireland now ranks eight globally for wind and solar penetration as a share of total electricity generation, with Denmark leading the way.

Overall, emissions from electricity generation hit a 35-year low in 2024, with fuel use for electricity generation reducing by 2.3%. This included stable levels of natural gas consumption and a 49% drop in coal use, ahead of the closure of Moneypoint, Ireland’s last remaining coal plant, in June 2025.

While no longer active in the electricity market, Moneypoint will operate as a backup facility, burning heavy fuel oil under emergency instruction from EirGrid until 2029.

Its phased shutdown, combined with increased energy demand and renewable shortfalls, contributed to a 166% increase in oil consumption in 2024.

In 2024, Ireland recorded the highest non-household electricity price in the EU, with businesses citing this as a ‘major threat to business viability, future investment, and decarbonisation’ in Ireland. Household prices were nearly 30% above the EU average, second only to Germany.

Reducing the spark gap between electricity and gas prices will be crucial to enabling continued electrification and the successful roll-out of heat pumps for both industrial and domestic consumers.

Data centre expansion, alongside the electrification of heating and transport continue to increase the strain on Ireland’s grid. The €200 billion National Development Plan aims to address these challenges through major grid infrastructure upgrades to support both economic growth and renewables integration in tandem.

While some key challenges facing the Irish renewables sector, outlined in KPMG’s Act Now report have been addressed, too many persist. Planning and permitting delays continued to have a disproportionate impact on the overall timeline of renewable project delivery.

The European Commission’s July Infringement Package highlighted Ireland’s failure to transpose key provisions of the Renewable Energy Directive, which aim to simplify and accelerate permitting processes.

This transposition will be essential both for the renewable projects and the infrastructure needed to increase Ireland’s grid capacity.

Global primary energy consumption hit a new all-time high, up just over 2% from the previous year. Electricity demand surged by more than 4%, continuing to outpace overall energy use as electrification gains momentum. Yet global CO₂ emissions also rose by 1%, setting a record for the fourth consecutive year.

Despite rapid growth in clean energy, fossil fuels remain central to the global energy mix. In 2024, global oil production rose 0.6% to reach 97 million barrels of oil per day, with non-OPEC output accounting for 66%. For the first time, the U.S. produced over 20 million barrels of oil per day, more than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined.

While the U.S. and Europe showed signs of plateauing fossil fuel use, deployment of renewables in Europe slowed due to rising interest rates and supply chain pressures. In contrast, China added more renewable capacity in 2024 than the U.S., Europe, and India combined, reinforcing its leadership in the global transition.

Non-OECD countries continue to accelerate renewable deployment at twice the rate of OECD countries over the past decade, with energy demand and investment increasingly shifting toward these fast-growing markets.

Policymakers and business leaders now face a transition marked by diverging regional trends, infrastructure bottlenecks, and fragmented signals from markets and regulation. Agility, data-driven decisions, and local insight are more important than ever.