World Energy Outlook 2007

after China and the United States. Biomass and waste, mostly fuelwood for
cooking and heating in rural areas, met 29% of demand, down from 56% in
1980. Oil demand accounted for about a quarter, up from 16%. The share of
natural gas has increased recently and is now about 5% of primary demand,
the result of a deliberate government policy of diversifying the fuel mix. Coal
accounts for nearly 70% of electricity output. Hydropower represents another
14%, though its share in the power generation mix has declined for the past
35 years. Other renewable energy sources, mostly wind and solar, together
with nuclear power, account for almost 5% of electricity supply. The
contribution of wind has been steadily increasing since the 1990s.
The increasing use of fossil fuels in India has driven up carbon-dioxide
emissions. At 1.1 billion tonnes in 2005, they are fast approaching the level of
Japan (1.2 billion tonnes). But they are still currently only about a fifth of those
in the United States and China. Per-capita emissions in India, at one tonne in
2005, were among the lowest in the world's largest economies and compared
with 11 tonnes per capita in the OECD. 2
India is a large importer of energy, mostly oil. In 2005, it imported 70% of its
crude-oil requirements and consumed about 3% of world oil supply. LNG
imports commenced in February 2004 and accounted for 17% of total gas
demand in 2005. India also imports coal, about 12% of total demand
(Figure 15.1).
India's overall energy intensity, measured as primary energy consumption per
unit of GDP, has declined significantly since 1980, mainly thanks to the
growing share of the services sector in GDP, which is less energy-intensive.
Improved efficiency of energy use and a changing fuel mix in the industry
sector also contributed. The share of coal in total energy use in industry, at
around 41% in 1990, dropped to around 30% in 2005.
India is the world's third-largest coal producer, after China and the United
States, with output of 262 Mtce in 2005. 3 It also has the third-largest proven
coal reserves, totalling 98 billion tonnes. Coal demand was 297 Mtce in 2005,
resulting in imports of about 36 Mtce. 4 Most imported coal is of higher quality
than the grades produced indigenously, particularly coking coal for use in the
iron and steel industry. Oil consumption has more than doubled since 1990.
With domestic production flat for over a decade, India's dependence on crude
oil imports has increased from 44% of total primary oil consumption in 1990
to 70% in 2005. Currently, a small fraction of these crude oil imports are
exported as refined products. India produced 28.8 bcm of natural gas in 2005,
while it consumed about 34.8 bcm, mostly in the power and fertilizer sectors.
15
2. See Figure 5.10 in Chapter 5 for a comparison of per-capita emissions in India and other
countries/regions.
3. A tonne of coal equivalent (tce) is defined as 7 million kilocalories (1 tce = 0.7 toe).
4. Imports are not equivalent to the difference between demand and supply because of stocks.
Chapter 15 - Overview of the Energy Sector 445