GE at TED: Visualizing Europe’s Energy Dependency

At this year’s TED conference, currently underway in Long Beach, CA, GE’s on-site Innovation Gallery is featuring new technologies, X-ray art by Nick Veasey and nearly 20 data visualizations on energy. One of those — the “Energy Dependency” visualization by designers Driven by Data — takes a closer look at EU members and the changes underway as the countries work toward their “20-20-20” targets. The goal is to cut energy consumption by 20 percent; greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent, and increase the share of renewables in the energy mix to 20 percent by 2020.

You can use the interactive version by clicking here. But we’ve also broken out a few of the slices below, all of which draw on European Commission statistics.

The first image shows the countries at the starting gate in 2006, prior to the 20-20-20 goals being endorsed in March 2007 (they became law in 2009). By 2008, the last year for which the EU has provided data, Romania, Austria and Estonia were ahead of the pack.

Click to enlarge. A snapshot from 2006. The graphic can also be found at visualizing.org, which is the global open data visualization hub created by GE and Seed Media Group.

Click to enlarge. Progress by 2008.

The image below shows what proportion of a country’s energy is coming from imports in 2008. Those like Italy at the far right, import the most, while those like Norway, at the far left, are net energy exporters.

Click to enlarge.

In comparing energy production over the years, a look at the change in the UK makes a strong case for the country’s aggressive push into wind energy. In 1997, the UK led the pack, but a decade later, the lead is erased.

Click to enlarge.

And this image takes a look at greenhouse gas emissions per person. Luxembourg at the far right skews the chart because of its small size. Turkey, at the far right, has the lowest emissions per capita.

Click to enlarge.

Learn more about GE’s energy work in Europe in these stories:
* Size Matters: Mega-Jenbacher Engine Joins Biogas-Burning Fleet
* Europe’s Largest onshore wind farm expands with GE
* Offshore wind is in as UK PM meets Immelt
* European Alt Energy Summit: Tailoring tech by region
* Port of Rotterdam sailing to sustainability on tech wave
* A historic 1st: Smart Grid tech links Turkey to Europe

John Niedermeier

There are a few mistakes in this article that make it difficult to appreciate the material. Some are typographical (Turkey, at the far right, has the lowest emissions per capita. It should have read, far left.), while others are simply graphical (The UK symbol is not visible in the 1997 depiction of ‘Primary Energy Production’ that is embedded in the article. Ditto for Luxembourg in the last chart. Even if both were intentional, they were both confusing as depicted and explained.). I also think that a better job could have been done explaining some of the other information in the article. While most are obvious, an added bonus would have been a country legend.