A better currency for investing in a sustainable future

Carbajales‐Dale, Michael; Barnhart, C. J.; Brandt, Adam R.; Benson, Sally M.

doi:10.1038/nclimate2285

Cited by 66 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…In other words, the purpose of NEA is to quantify the extent to which a given system or process is able to provide a positive energy surplus to the end user, also referred to as net energy gain (NEG), after accounting for all the energy losses occurring along process chains (such as extraction, transformation, delivery, and others) as well as for all the additional energy investments that are required in order to carry out the same chain of processes [20][21][22][23][24][25][26].…”

Section: Net Energy Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The Energy and Environmental Performance of Ground-Mounted Photovoltaic Systems—A Timely Update

2016

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Given photovoltaics' (PVs) constant improvements in terms of material usage and energy efficiency, this paper provides a timely update on their life-cycle energy and environmental performance. Single-crystalline Si (sc-Si), multi-crystalline Si (mc-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) systems are analysed, considering the actual country of production and adapting the input electricity mix accordingly. Energy pay-back time (EPBT) results for fixed-tilt ground mounted installations range from 0.5 years for CdTe PV at high-irradiation (2300 kWh/(m 2¨y r)) to 2.8 years for sc-Si PV at low-irradiation (1000 kWh/(m 2¨y r)), with corresponding quality-adjusted energy return on investment (EROI PE-eq ) values ranging from over 60 to~10. Global warming potential (GWP) per kWh el averages out at~30 g (CO 2 -eq), with lower values (down to~10 g) for CdTe PV at high irradiation, and up to~80 g for Chinese sc-Si PV at low irradiation. In general, results point to CdTe PV as the best performing technology from an environmental life-cycle perspective, also showing a remarkable improvement for current production modules in comparison with previous generations. Finally, we determined that one-axis tracking installations can improve the environmental profile of PV systems by approximately 10% for most impact metrics.

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Section: Net Energy Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The Energy and Environmental Performance of Ground-Mounted Photovoltaic Systems—A Timely Update

2016

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“…This paper proposes that, when considering mutually exclusive kilns, the kiln that maximizes the NPV should be chosen. This statement has also been supported by other energy and economic analysis, including Commonwealth of Australia (2006), Carbajales-Dale et al (2014), and Heun and de Wit (2012). The NBLR, which has been calculated as the ratio of TPPV to the TPCV (Eq.…”

Section: Present-value Performance Indicators (Pvpis)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a sustainable methodology for life-cycle performance evaluation of solar dryers

Hasan

Langrish

2016

Solar Energy

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“…Even if the EROI values of renewables may increase in future from current relatively low values-there is contrasting evidence on current values [8,9]-we need to better understand what that would imply for our economies and societies. For the guidance of national energy policy, EROI at a national level could help inform policy decisions that aim to manage an energy transition [72]. Consider the transaction matrix Z ( Figure A1).…”

Section: Conclusion and Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing an Input-Output Based Method to Estimate a National-Level Energy Return on Investment (EROI)

et al. 2017

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Abstract:Concerns have been raised that declining energy return on energy investment (EROI) from fossil fuels, and low levels of EROI for alternative energy sources, could constrain the ability of national economies to continue to deliver economic growth and improvements in social wellbeing while undertaking a low-carbon transition. However, in order to test these concerns on a national scale, there is a conceptual and methodological gap in relation to calculating a national-level EROI and analysing its policy implications. We address this by developing a novel application of an Input-Output methodology to calculate a national-level indirect energy investment, one of the components needed for calculating a national-level EROI. This is a mixed physical and monetary approach using Multi-Regional Input-Output data and an energy extension. We discuss some conceptual and methodological issues relating to defining EROI for a national economy, and describe in detail the methodology and data requirements for the approach. We obtain initial results for the UK for the period 1997-2012, which show that the country's EROI has been declining since the beginning of the 21st Century. We discuss the policy relevance of measuring national-level EROI and propose avenues for future research.

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A better currency for investing in a sustainable future

Cited by 66 publications

References 13 publications

The Energy and Environmental Performance of Ground-Mounted Photovoltaic Systems—A Timely Update

The Energy and Environmental Performance of Ground-Mounted Photovoltaic Systems—A Timely Update

Development of a sustainable methodology for life-cycle performance evaluation of solar dryers

Developing an Input-Output Based Method to Estimate a National-Level Energy Return on Investment (EROI)

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