Energy Consumption to Grow 225% in 40 Years, Study Predicts

A private energy group predicted Saturday that energy consumption will increase 225% in the next 40 years and “two additional Saudi Arabias would be needed to supply enough oil” to meet the demand.

In a study, the Worldwatch Institute also found that the huge increase in energy consumption--without any controls--would result in a 265% increase in sulfur emissions that form acid rain.

The institute said that new steps to conserve energy are needed to avoid waste and hold down the emissions that result in acid rain, blamed for killing trees and fish in the northern part of the United States and Canada.

“Without new energy efficiency measures, society will triple coal use by the year 2025,” said William Chandler, author of the report “Energy Productivity: Key to Environmental Protection and Economic Progress.”

“If that happens,” he warned, “acid rain-causing sulfur emissions will also nearly triple.”

The study found that most experts expect world energy consumption to increase 225% over the next 40 years. But that increase could be cut in half if world leaders implement all available energy-saving measures, the report said.

If the estimate proves correct, Chandler said, “two additional Saudi Arabias would be needed to supply enough oil. World coal production would be tripled. Three times as many rivers would be impounded behind hydroelectric dams. And several hundred large nuclear power plants would be built.”

Energy conservation could hold the increase to 35% and “make the use of emissions controls more affordable and feasible,” he said.