Energy intensity ratios as net energy measures of United States energy production and expenditures
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15550976 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Charles W King (0000-0002-8922-9340, The University of Texas at Austin, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 044006-044006 |
| Publication date | 2010-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Research Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326 |
| Publisher | IOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/5/4/044006 |
| OpenAlex | W2043871197 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 17 |
In this letter I compare two measures of energy quality, energy return on energy invested (EROI) and energy intensity ratio (EIR) for the fossil fuel consumption and production of the United States. All other characteristics being equal, a fuel or energy system with a higher EROI or EIR is of better quality because more energy is provided to society. I define and calculate the EIR for oil, natural gas, coal, and electricity as measures of the energy intensity (units of energy divided by money) of the energy resource relative to the energy intensity of the overall economy. EIR measures based upon various unit prices for energy (e.g. $/Btu of a barrel of oil) as well as total expenditures on energy supplies (e.g. total dollars spent on petroleum) indicate net energy at different points in the supply chain of the overall energy system. The results indicate that EIR is an easily calculated and effective proxy for EROI for US oil, gas, coal, and electricity. The EIR correlates well with previous EROI calculations, but adds additional information on energy resource quality within the supply chain. Furthermore, the EIR and EROI of oil and gas as well as coal were all in decline for two time periods within the last 40 years, and both time periods preceded economic recessions
Coal · Economics · Electricity · Energy (signal processing · Energy consumption · Energy intensity · Energy source · Energy supply · Fossil fuel · Natural gas · Natural resource economics · Statistics · Waste management · Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies · Engineering · Environmental Impact and Sustainability · Environmental Science · Global Energy and Sustainability Research · Mathematics
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.21 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2024 (13) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |