IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v285y2021ics030626192100009x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impacts of COVID-19 on energy demand and consumption: Challenges, lessons and emerging opportunities

Author

Listed:
  • Jiang, Peng
  • Fan, Yee Van
  • Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír

Abstract

COVID-19 has caused great challenges to the energy industry. Potential new practices and social forms being facilitated by the pandemics are having impacts on energy demand and consumption. Spatial and temporal heterogeneities of impacts appear gradually due to the dynamics of pandemics and mitigation measures. This paper overviews the impacts and challenges of COVID-19 pandemics on energy demand and consumption and highlights energy-related lessons and emerging opportunities. The discussion on energy-related issues is divided into four main sections: emergency situation and its impacts, environmental impacts and stabilising energy demand, recovering energy demand, and lessons and emerging opportunities. The changes in energy requirements are compared and analysed from multiple perspectives according to available data and information. In general, although the overall energy demand declines, the spatial and temporal variations are complicated. The energy intensity has presented apparent changes, the extra energy for COVID-19 fighting is non-negligible for stabilising energy demand, and the energy recovery in different regions presents significant differences. A crucial issue has been to allocate and find energy-related emerging opportunities for the post pandemics. This study could offer a direction in opening new avenues for increasing energy efficiency and promoting energy saving.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiang, Peng & Fan, Yee Van & Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír, 2021. "Impacts of COVID-19 on energy demand and consumption: Challenges, lessons and emerging opportunities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:285:y:2021:i:c:s030626192100009x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.116441
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030626192100009X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.116441?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Moya, Diego & Budinis, Sara & Giarola, Sara & Hawkes, Adam, 2020. "Agent-based scenarios comparison for assessing fuel-switching investment in long-term energy transitions of the India’s industry sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    2. Ma Jun, 2020. "Chinas pioneering green finance," Chapters, in: Claude Henry & Johan Rockström & Nicholas Stern (ed.), Standing up for a Sustainable World, chapter 51, pages 360-368, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Valeriya Azarova & Mathias Mier, 2020. "MSR under Exogenous Shock: The Case of Covid-19 Pandemic," ifo Working Paper Series 338, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    4. Dvořák, Petr & Martinát, Stanislav & der Horst, Dan Van & Frantál, Bohumil & Turečková, Kamila, 2017. "Renewable energy investment and job creation; a cross-sectoral assessment for the Czech Republic with reference to EU benchmarks," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 360-368.
    5. Zhang, Xingxing & Pellegrino, Filippo & Shen, Jingchun & Copertaro, Benedetta & Huang, Pei & Kumar Saini, Puneet & Lovati, Marco, 2020. "A preliminary simulation study about the impact of COVID-19 crisis on energy demand of a building mix at a district in Sweden," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    6. Madurai Elavarasan, Rajvikram & Shafiullah, GM & Raju, Kannadasan & Mudgal, Vijay & Arif, M.T. & Jamal, Taskin & Subramanian, Senthilkumar & Sriraja Balaguru, V.S. & Reddy, K.S. & Subramaniam, Umashan, 2020. "COVID-19: Impact analysis and recommendations for power sector operation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    7. Michelle Graff & Sanya Carley, 2020. "COVID-19 assistance needs to target energy insecurity," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 5(5), pages 352-354, May.
    8. Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír & Fan, Yee Van & Tan, Raymond R. & Jiang, Peng, 2020. "Minimising the present and future plastic waste, energy and environmental footprints related to COVID-19," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    9. ., 2020. "From Chinas logistics to Chinas geologistics," Chapters, in: China’s Global Vision and Actions, chapter 2, pages 14-35, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Vanesa Castán Broto & Joshua Kirshner, 2020. "Energy access is needed to maintain health during pandemics," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 5(6), pages 419-421, June.
    11. Wei, Max & Patadia, Shana & Kammen, Daniel M., 2010. "Putting renewables and energy efficiency to work: How many jobs can the clean energy industry generate in the US?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 919-931, February.
    12. Bagheri, Mehdi & Delbari, Seyed Hamid & Pakzadmanesh, Mina & Kennedy, Christopher A., 2019. "City-integrated renewable energy design for low-carbon and climate-resilient communities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C), pages 1212-1225.
    13. Candice Howarth & Peter Bryant & Adam Corner & Sam Fankhauser & Andy Gouldson & Lorraine Whitmarsh & Rebecca Willis, 2020. "Building a Social Mandate for Climate Action: Lessons from COVID-19," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 1107-1115, August.
    14. Jens Malmodin & Dag Lundén, 2018. "The Energy and Carbon Footprint of the Global ICT and E&M Sectors 2010–2015," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-31, August.
    15. Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír & Fan, Yee Van & Jiang, Peng, 2020. "The energy and environmental footprints of COVID-19 fighting measures – PPE, disinfection, supply chains," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    16. Anders S. G. Andrae & Tomas Edler, 2015. "On Global Electricity Usage of Communication Technology: Trends to 2030," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-41, April.
    17. Megan Scudellari, 2020. "How the pandemic might play out in 2021 and beyond," Nature, Nature, vol. 584(7819), pages 22-25, August.
    18. Chiaramonti, David & Maniatis, Kyriakos, 2020. "Security of supply, strategic storage and Covid19: Which lessons learnt for renewable and recycled carbon fuels, and their future role in decarbonizing transport?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    19. Sui, Yi & Zhang, Haoran & Shang, Wenlong & Sun, Rencheng & Wang, Changying & Ji, Jun & Song, Xuan & Shao, Fengjing, 2020. "Mining urban sustainable performance: Spatio-temporal emission potential changes of urban transit buses in post-COVID-19 future," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    20. Bao, Helen X.H. & Li, Steven Haotong, 2020. "Housing wealth and residential energy consumption," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    21. Lange, Steffen & Pohl, Johanna & Santarius, Tilman, 2020. "Digitalization and energy consumption. Does ICT reduce energy demand?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    22. Klaus Mohn, 2020. "The gravity of status quo: A review of IEA's World Energy Outlook," Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1), pages 63-82.
    23. Wang, Qingqing & Lu, Mei & Bai, Zimeng & Wang, Ke, 2020. "Coronavirus pandemic reduced China’s CO2 emissions in short-term, while stimulus packages may lead to emissions growth in medium- and long-term," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    24. Yee Van Fan & Zorka Novak Pintarič & Jiří Jaromír Klemeš, 2020. "Emerging Tools for Energy System Design Increasing Economic and Environmental Sustainability," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-25, August.
    25. Robin Naidoo & Brendan Fisher, 2020. "Reset Sustainable Development Goals for a pandemic world," Nature, Nature, vol. 583(7815), pages 198-201, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Peng Jiang & Jiří Jaromír Klemeš & Yee Van Fan & Xiuju Fu & Yong Mong Bee, 2021. "More Is Not Enough: A Deeper Understanding of the COVID-19 Impacts on Healthcare, Energy and Environment Is Crucial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-22, January.
    2. Indre Siksnelyte-Butkiene, 2021. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic to the Sustainability of the Energy Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-19, November.
    3. Chen, Xiaoyuan & Chen, Yu & Zhang, Mingshun & Jiang, Shan & Gou, Huayu & Pang, Zhou & Shen, Boyang, 2021. "Hospital-oriented quad-generation (HOQG)—A combined cooling, heating, power and gas (CCHPG) system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    4. García, Sebastián & Parejo, Antonio & Personal, Enrique & Ignacio Guerrero, Juan & Biscarri, Félix & León, Carlos, 2021. "A retrospective analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions on energy consumption at a disaggregated level," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).
    5. Halbrügge, Stephanie & Buhl, Hans Ulrich & Fridgen, Gilbert & Schott, Paul & Weibelzahl, Martin & Weissflog, Jan, 2022. "How Germany achieved a record share of renewables during the COVID-19 pandemic while relying on the European interconnected power network," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    6. Heffron, Raphael J. & Körner, Marc-Fabian & Schöpf, Michael & Wagner, Jonathan & Weibelzahl, Martin, 2021. "The role of flexibility in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: Contributing to a sustainable and resilient energy future in Europe," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    7. Tilman Santarius & Johanna Pohl & Steffen Lange, 2020. "Digitalization and the Decoupling Debate: Can ICT Help to Reduce Environmental Impacts While the Economy Keeps Growing?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-20, September.
    8. Rishan Adha & Cheng-Yih Hong & Somya Agrawal & Li-Hua Li, 2023. "ICT, carbon emissions, climate change, and energy demand nexus: The potential benefit of digitalization in Taiwan," Energy & Environment, , vol. 34(5), pages 1619-1638, August.
    9. Aviad Navon & Ram Machlev & David Carmon & Abiodun Emmanuel Onile & Juri Belikov & Yoash Levron, 2021. "Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Energy Systems and Electric Power Grids—A Review of the Challenges Ahead," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-14, February.
    10. Kopp, Thomas & Nabernegg, Markus & Lange, Steffen, 2023. "The net climate effect of digitalization, differentiating between firms and households," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    11. Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír & Jiang, Peng & Fan, Yee Van & Bokhari, Awais & Wang, Xue-Chao, 2021. "COVID-19 pandemics Stage II – Energy and environmental impacts of vaccination," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    12. Sławomir Bielecki & Tadeusz Skoczkowski & Lidia Sobczak & Janusz Buchoski & Łukasz Maciąg & Piotr Dukat, 2021. "Impact of the Lockdown during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Electricity Use by Residential Users," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-32, February.
    13. Škare, Marinko & Gavurova, Beata & Porada-Rochon, Malgorzata, 2024. "Digitalization and carbon footprint: Building a path to a sustainable economic growth," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    14. Collen Zalengera & Maxon L. Chitawo & Isaac Chitedze & Long Seng To & Vincent Mwale & Kondwani T. Gondwe & Timeyo Maroyi, 2021. "Unbending the Winding Path of a Low-Income Country’s Energy Sector amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives from Malawi," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-15, November.
    15. Lazo, Joaquín & Aguirre, Gerson & Watts, David, 2022. "An impact study of COVID-19 on the electricity sector: A comprehensive literature review and Ibero-American survey," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    16. Williams, Laurence & Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Foxon, Timothy J., 2022. "The energy use implications of 5G: Reviewing whole network operational energy, embodied energy, and indirect effects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    17. Marcin Malec & Grzegorz Kinelski & Marzena Czarnecka, 2021. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Electricity Demand Profiles: A Case Study of Selected Business Clients in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-17, August.
    18. Halbrügge, Stephanie & Schott, Paul & Weibelzahl, Martin & Buhl, Hans Ulrich & Fridgen, Gilbert & Schöpf, Michael, 2021. "How did the German and other European electricity systems react to the COVID-19 pandemic?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    19. Nicolas Moreau & Thibault Pirson & Grégoire Le Brun & Thibault Delhaye & Georgiana Sandu & Antoine Paris & David Bol & Jean-Pierre Raskin, 2021. "Could Unsustainable Electronics Support Sustainability?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-7, June.
    20. Ruan, Guangchun & Wu, Jiahan & Zhong, Haiwang & Xia, Qing & Xie, Le, 2021. "Quantitative assessment of U.S. bulk power systems and market operations during the COVID-19 pandemic," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:285:y:2021:i:c:s030626192100009x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.