Net energy ratio, EROEI and the macroeconomy

Fagnart, Jean-François; Germain, Marc

doi:10.1016/j.strueco.2016.01.003

Cited by 17 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…It provides, at least in theory, a more objective, stable and future predictive assessment than information about costs and prices, as this is strongly influenced by erratic and short-term factors, such as subsidies, market power, strategic behavior of suppliers, and emotional responses by market participants. The average EROI of an economy's overall energy mix can therefore provide an indication of opportunities for economic activity 11 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of net energy-return-on-investment for a low-carbon energy transition

2018

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Low-carbon energy transitions aim to stay within a carbon budget limiting potential climate change to 2 ºC-or well below-through substantial growth in renewable energy sources alongside improved energy efficiency and carbon capture and storage. Current scenarios tend to overlook their low net energy returns compared to existing fossil fuel infrastructure. Correcting from gross to net energy, we show that a low-carbon transition would likely lead to a 24 to 31% decline in net energy per capita by 2050, implying a strong reversal of recent rising trends of 0.5% per annum. Unless vast end use efficiency savings can be achieved in the coming decades, current lifestyles might be impaired. To maintain present net energy returns, solar and wind renewable power sources should grow two to three times faster than in other proposals. We suggest a new indicator, 'energy return on carbon' (EROC), to assist in maximizing net energy from the remaining carbon budget. Gross Energy 550 EJ Net Energy 523 EJ 27 EJ reinvested End use energy services 219 EJ Energy losses 304 EJ Consumption on necessities 100 EJ Non-essentials 119 EJ Gross Energy 550 EJ Net Energy 367 EJ 183 EJ Reinvested End use energy services 154 EJ Energy losses 213 EJ Consumption on necessities 100 EJ Non-essentials 54 EJ High EROI Economy (EROI = 20:1) Low EROI Economy (EROI = 3:1)

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of net energy-return-on-investment for a low-carbon energy transition

2018

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“…Clearly, a NEG is achieved when the value is positive. EROEI is the ratio of the amount of energy gathered from a source and the energy consumed directly or indirectly by the process (Fagnart and Germain 2016) and is equal to: EROEI = (total energy output)/(total energy input)…”

Section: Energy Return Ratio and Relative Indicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this framework, an economy that can obtain energy with a higher value of NER, NEG or EROEI can distribute more labor and capital among different activities. Therefore, such an economy has a greater potential for development and growth than another (Fagnart and Germain 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in Scientific Literature on Energy Return Ratio of Renewable Energy Sources for Supporting Policymakers

Rana

Lombardi

Giungato

et al. 2020

Administrative Sciences

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The scarcity of fossil fuels and their environmental impact as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, have prompted governments around the world to both develop research and foster the use of renewable energy sources (RES), such as biomass, wind, and solar. Therefore, although these efforts represent potential solutions for fossil fuel shortages and GHG emission reduction, some doubts have emerged recently regarding their energy efficiency. Indeed, it is very useful to assess their energy gain, which means quantifying and comparing the amount of energy consumed to produce alternative fuels. In this context, the aim of this paper is to analyze the trend of the academic literature of studies concerning the indices of the energy return ratio (ERR), such as energy return on energy invested (EROEI), considering biomass, wind and solar energy. This could be useful for institutions and to public organizations in order to redefine their political vision for realizing sustainable socio-economic systems in line with the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies. Results showed that biomass seems to be more expensive and less efficient than the equivalent fossil-based energy, whereas solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy have reached mature and advanced levels of technology.

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“…In economics, NER is the fraction of produced energy available for net final production [70]. Thus, for a given technology, NER is a dimensionless index which can be used to quantify how "efficient" that technology is in terms of providing energy compared to the input energy required to manufacture (partly or completely) that technology.…”

Section: Estimation Of Energy Consumption and Net Energy Ratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Harmonized and systematic assessment of microalgae energy potential for biodiesel production

Arcigni

Friso

Collu

et al. 2019

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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With their fast growth rate and ability to accumulate a high percentage of their weight as lipid and carbohydrate, microalgae potentially represent an ideal feedstock for the production of biodiesel and bioethanol. In addition, microalgae offer several environmental benefits, and do not compete with food production for land, fresh water, and nutrients. Therefore, the main goal of this work is to provide a quantitative, systematic and harmonized assessment of current bio-energy potential. The analysis is conducted by considering all the main steps in detail, from cultivation to biodiesel production, and by deriving an overall estimation of energy consumption for biodiesel production. Energy consumption uncertainty is also quantified and discussed. A systematic review of all the main technologies available for all the main processing steps towards the production of biodiesel from microalgae is presented, focusing on the derivation of the Net Energy Ratio (NER) of each combination of technologies, complemented by an uncertainty analysis of the data used and those obtained in the present work. A wide scatter in the data available in the literature has been identified, highlighting the need for an uncertainty analysis. If the average overall energy consumption per unit of biodiesel mass is considered, all the routes adopting a raceway pond have a lower energy consumption, but if the uncertainty on the overall energy consumption is also considered, the minimum value of the range of NER values for some of the routes adopting a photobioreactor is comparable to the NER value obtainable by using raceway ponds. Thus, the present framework proposes a harmonized and comprehensive methodology to compare and contrast technologies for the production of biodiesel from microalgae, and is applied in this paper to identify, with an appreciation of the uncertainty, the most promising combinations of technologies.

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Net energy ratio, EROEI and the macroeconomy

Cited by 17 publications

References 7 publications

Implications of net energy-return-on-investment for a low-carbon energy transition

Implications of net energy-return-on-investment for a low-carbon energy transition

Trends in Scientific Literature on Energy Return Ratio of Renewable Energy Sources for Supporting Policymakers

Harmonized and systematic assessment of microalgae energy potential for biodiesel production

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