The financial crisis of the last year caused the most significant ever drop in energy demand and investment, leaving turbulence in energy programs worldwide, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said today.
In the first major global analysis since the financial crisis hit, the IEA's World Energy Outlook predicted a drop of 1.6% from 2008 consumption figures. This, only the second drop since the end of the World War II, has led to a fall in investment which could later trigger a supply squeeze, particularly in oil. Investment in wind turbines collapsed by 47%, but since recovered half of the fall.
Although it could give no examples, the IEA warned of delays or cancellations in nuclear power programs, adding that "the financing of new nuclear power plants, especially in liberalised markets, has always been difficult and the financial crisis seems almost certain to have made it even more so."
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