Despite falling energy prices, investors and managers are still flocking to energy, power and renewables funds. Perhaps that is because infrastructure investing is meant to be long term, and long term, energy demand is only expected to grow.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s International Energy Outlook 2016 (IEO2016) projects that world energy consumption will grow by 48 percent between 2012 and 2040. Most of this growth will come from countries that are not in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), including countries where demand is driven by strong economic growth, particularly in Asia.

Renewables and nuclear power are the world’s fastest-growing energy sources over the projection period. Renewable energy increases by an average 2.6 percent per year through 2040; nuclear power increases by 2.3 percent per year.

Even though nonfossil fuels are expected to grow faster than fossil fuels (petroleum and other liquid fuels