The Physics
Factbook
An encyclopedia of scientific essays

Energy Consumption of Australia

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Bibliographic Entry Result
(w/surrounding text)
Standardized
Result
Science Guide. New York: DK Publishing, 1998. "This chart shows how the energy used by a person each day can vary considerably from one country to the next. The values include all sources of energy used, e.g. food, electricity and gas. Energy used in kJ per person per day in Australia is 16.5 million" 110 EJ
(unlikely)
Statesman Yearbook of Politics, Cultures, and Economies of the World. New York: St. Martin's, 1999. "Electricity…. Total consumption at June 30 1996 was an estimated 144.3m kWh." 8.8 EJ
Lowell, Feld. Australia. Energy Information Administration. 20 April 2000. "Total Energy (1998E) Consumption: 4.3 quadrillion Btu -- (1.4% of the world total energy consumption)" 4.54 EJ
(1998)
Data Table 12.1 Commercial Energy Production, 1973 - 1993. World Resources 1996 - 1997. A Guide to Global Environment. World Resources Institute. "Total commercial energy consumed in 1973 was 99% less than in 1993. The total Commercial energy consumed in 1993 was 3917 petajoules." 3.197 EJ
(1993)
Bush, S., et al. Australian Energy Consumption and Production to 2014 - 15. Australian Energy News. 12 June 1999: 27-30. "The report indicates that total energy consumption in Australia is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 1.4% between 1997-98 and 2014-15 to reach 6087 PJ. The projected rate of growth to 2014-15 is almost half that experienced over the past 25 years (2.6% a year) for a number of important reasons." 6.087 EJ
(2014-15)
"1997-98, 4810.1 PJ;
2014-15, 6086.9 PJ"
4.8101 EJ
(1997-98)
6.0869 EJ
(2014-15)

Energy is defined as the capacity to do work. There are many different types of energy such as kinetic, potential, and radiant among others. From little fires to large nuclear power plants, energy is always being used. Energy can be measured in any of several units: BTU, Joules or kilowatt-hours, for example. Since, the values for the energy consumption of an entire continent are so large, often units such as petajoules (PJ = 1015 J) and exojoules (EJ = 1018 J) are used to measure the quantity of enerfgy consumption

Although energy can be measured, it is often hard to determine the exact energy that is consumed by a particular region. However, it is safe to conclude that as an area gets more populous and larger there will be more energy consumed in that area. Even though there are no exact numbers for the consumption of energy in certain parts of the world, there are good estimates of the total energy consumed in these places.

When we take a look at Australia we can detect certain trends that relate to the consumption of energy. According to data from the World Resources Institute, the total commercial energy consumed in 1993 was 3.92 EJ. This was a major increase of 99% from 1973. We can also look at the total energy consumed in 1993 and the projected energy consumed in 2014. If the projected data are correct there will be a 55% (5.698 EJ) in the energy consumed from 1993 to 2014. Recent energy consumption has been on the order of 1 EJ per year. It is expected to reach nearly 10 EJ per year within the next 15 years.

Alex Kerzhner -- 2000