1st Intermediate Visualizations Interactive Dashboard (Tableau)
Our aim is to understand the patterns for different energy sources over time, to see the predominant countries in different energy sources and to observe the changes in patterns. In order to look at the energy patterns of countries, we created an interactive dashboard on Tableau, which can be accessed via the link below. A snapshot of the dashboard is given as well.
Explaining the dashboard: The dashboard includes two panels and four filters. Above is the world map for the measure of an energy source, with larger dots indicating larger values, and below is the top 10 countries in that selected measure. Top-right is the slider that filters each year and bottom-right is the filter that allows a user to see top X countries from that selected measure (10 is default). The remaining two filters at the right side are for the energy type and measure, which are explained in our second blog post about the description of the data set. These filters also allow a user to see the values for multiple energy types and measures at the same time.
Insights obtained: After looking at the map and the top countries over time with possible filtering options, below are the insights that we think are important.
- Leader countries in coal consumption were U.S.A., China, Russia, Germany and Poland until late 1980s. Then, China overwhelmingly takes the leadership while other countries drastically decreased their coal consumption in recent years. The same pattern is observed for production as well. In terms of consumption per capita, European countries constitutes the majority whereas in terms of production per capita, Australia is by far the leader in the world for decades.
- Fossil consumption has the same patterns as coal consumption. However, in terms of the increase in consumption rate on consumption per capita, Asian countries in the Arabic peninsula (e.g., Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, U.A.E. etc.) are the leaders since 1980s. Also, in terms of electricity generation from and the general energy share, these countries almost solely rely on fossil fuels.
- U.S.A. and Russia are the predominant countries in gas consumption, followed by China and Iran in recent years. In terms of consumption per capita, Qatar is the overwhelming leader for decades, followed by Trinidad & Tobago. Trinidad & Tobago and Uzbekistan are also the leaders in relying on gas energy with more than 80% share. For gas production, U.S.A. and Russia are the absolute leaders, followed by Canada until 2010 and then by Iran and Qatar. In terms of gas production per capita, Qatar is the absolute leader, followed by Brunei in recent years.
- The top countries of hydro energy consumption are mainly U.S.A., Canada, Brazil, China and Russia, with China taking the leadership overwhelmingly in recent years. The rate of increase in hydro energy consumption is the highest among Eastern European countries, Iran and Algeria in recent years. However, in terms of consumption per capita and reliance on hydro energy, Scandinavian countries such as Iceland and Norway are the world leaders for decades. It is interesting that, electricity is produced solely by hydro energy in countries like Lesotho and Laos.
- U.S.A. is also the overwhelming leader in oil consumption for decades, followed by Japan until 2003 and by China after 2003. However, in terms of consumption per capita, Singapore is the overwhelming leader since 1995, followed by other Asian countries in Arabic peninsula. Japan and Saudi Arabia are the leaders in terms of electricity produced by oil energy. Overall, reliance on oil as the main source of energy decreased in time, yet oil share in some countries is still more than 50% for some countries. In terms of oil production, U.S.A., Russia and Saudi Arabia are the predominant countries for decades. Also, the rate of increase in oil production is the highest in some African countries in recent years. In terms of production per capita, absolutely predominant countries are Arabic countries since decades.
- Biofuel consumption is observed since 1990, and the leader countries are Brazil (until 2004) and U.S.A. (after 2004). Indonesia is also seen to increase its biofuel consumption rate consistently in recent years. However, in terms of consumption per capita, Sweden takes the leadership in recent years.
- The leaders in low-carbon energy consumption are U.S.A. and China for decades, followed by France, Canada and Brazil. However, Scandinavian countries are the leaders in consumption and electricity per capita, plus overall energy share with more than 50%.
- U.S.A. is the leader for decades in nuclear consumption, followed by France after 1980s. Also, China becomes a strong contender in recent years. However, in terms of consumption per capita, France and Sweden are the leaders, followed mainly by other European countries. France is also the leader in electricity generation by and overall share of nuclear energy in 21st century so far, followed by Lithuania.
- For renewable energy consumption U.S.A. was the leader for decades, but the leadership is taken over by China in recent years. However, Iceland and Norway, as in hydro energy, are the predominant countries in renewable energy and electricity consumption per capita. Also, the rate of increase in renewable energy consumption shows a huge uptick in Arabic countries, indicating a shift from non-renewables to renewables. This shift might become more apparent in the future. The leaders in electricity generation by renewable sources were U.S.A., Canada and Brazil, while China takes over the leadership overwhelmingly in the last decade. The overall energy share in renewables are the majority in Iceland and Norway,
- Solar energy consumption is observed since 1983 in U.S.A., and thus, they were the predominant country until 2002. Then, Japan and European countries (mainly Germany) became the leaders. In recent years, however, China has taken the leadership overwhelmingly. Overall, European countries are the largest solar energy consumers and solar electricity generators per capita, although none of the countries are above 10% in solar energy share.
- Denmark started with consuming wind energy in 1978 and has been the world leader for about a decade. Then, U.S.A. and Germany have been the leaders before China has taken over the leadership in 2016. However, Northern European countries (especially Denmark) has always been the leader in consumption per capita for decades. These ranks are also correlated with electricity generated by wind energy. Denmark is the only country that uses wind energy as their main electricity source. Leaders in wind energy share are Denmark, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Germany. However, none of their wind energy share is greater than about 20%.
Overall insights: It can be said that U.S.A., and recently China, are the two biggest energy consumers in the world, mainly because of their high population. In terms of energy production, Russia joins them as well. However, in terms of energy consumption per capita, different countries are the leaders for different energy sources. Also, another interesting observation is that certain small countries in Central America and in Asia relies on a single energy source.
