IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolec/v176y2020ics0921800919320543.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Implications of Trends in Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROI) for Transitioning to Renewable Electricity

Author

Listed:
  • Diesendorf, M.
  • Wiedmann, T.

Abstract

Recent papers argue that the energy return on energy invested (EROI) for renewable electricity technologies and systems may be so low that the transition from fossil fuelled to renewable electricity may displace investment in other important economic sectors. For the case of large-scale electricity supply, we draw upon insights from Net Energy Analysis and renewable energy engineering to examine critically some assumptions, data and arguments in these papers, focussing on regions in which wind and solar can provide the majority of electricity. We show that the above claim is based on outdated data on EROIs, on failing to consider the energy efficiency advantages of transitioning away from fuel combustion and on overestimates of storage requirements. EROIs of wind and solar photovoltaics, which can provide the vast majority of electricity and indeed of all energy in the future, are generally high (≥ 10) and increasing. The impact of storage on EROI depends on the quantities and types of storage adopted and their operational strategies. In the regions considered in this paper, the quantity of storage required to maintain generation reliability is relatively small.

Suggested Citation

  • Diesendorf, M. & Wiedmann, T., 2020. "Implications of Trends in Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROI) for Transitioning to Renewable Electricity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:176:y:2020:i:c:s0921800919320543
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106726
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800919320543
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106726?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Atse Louwen & Wilfried G. J. H. M. van Sark & André P. C. Faaij & Ruud E. I. Schropp, 2016. "Re-assessment of net energy production and greenhouse gas emissions avoidance after 40 years of photovoltaics development," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Ferroni, Ferruccio & Hopkirk, Robert J., 2016. "Energy Return on Energy Invested (ERoEI) for photovoltaic solar systems in regions of moderate insolation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 336-344.
    3. Dmitrii Bogdanov & Javier Farfan & Kristina Sadovskaia & Arman Aghahosseini & Michael Child & Ashish Gulagi & Ayobami Solomon Oyewo & Larissa Souza Noel Simas Barbosa & Christian Breyer, 2019. "Radical transformation pathway towards sustainable electricity via evolutionary steps," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, December.
    4. Weißbach, D. & Ruprecht, G. & Huke, A. & Czerski, K. & Gottlieb, S. & Hussein, A., 2013. "Energy intensities, EROIs (energy returned on invested), and energy payback times of electricity generating power plants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 210-221.
    5. Sers, Martin R. & Victor, Peter A., 2018. "The Energy-emissions Trap," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 10-21.
    6. Blakers, Andrew & Lu, Bin & Stocks, Matthew, 2017. "100% renewable electricity in Australia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 471-482.
    7. Lewis C. King & Jeroen C. J. M. van den Bergh, 2018. "Implications of net energy-return-on-investment for a low-carbon energy transition," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 3(4), pages 334-340, April.
    8. Palmer, Graham, 2017. "An input-output based net-energy assessment of an electricity supply industry," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 1504-1516.
    9. Paul E. Brockway & Anne Owen & Lina I. Brand-Correa & Lukas Hardt, 2019. "Estimation of global final-stage energy-return-on-investment for fossil fuels with comparison to renewable energy sources," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 4(7), pages 612-621, July.
    10. Hall, Charles A.S. & Lambert, Jessica G. & Balogh, Stephen B., 2014. "EROI of different fuels and the implications for society," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 141-152.
    11. Koomey, Jonathan & Hultman, Nathan E., 2007. "A reactor-level analysis of busbar costs for US nuclear plants, 1970-2005," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 5630-5642, November.
    12. Graham Palmer & Joshua Floyd, 2017. "An Exploration of Divergence in EPBT and EROI for Solar Photovoltaics," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 2(4), pages 1-20, December.
    13. Raugei, Marco & Fullana-i-Palmer, Pere & Fthenakis, Vasilis, 2012. "The energy return on energy investment (EROI) of photovoltaics: Methodology and comparisons with fossil fuel life cycles," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 576-582.
    14. Lu, Bin & Stocks, Matthew & Blakers, Andrew & Anderson, Kirsten, 2018. "Geographic information system algorithms to locate prospective sites for pumped hydro energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 300-312.
    15. Jacobson, Mark Z. & Delucchi, Mark A. & Cameron, Mary A. & Mathiesen, Brian V., 2018. "Matching demand with supply at low cost in 139 countries among 20 world regions with 100% intermittent wind, water, and sunlight (WWS) for all purposes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 236-248.
    16. Kavlak, Goksin & McNerney, James & Trancik, Jessika E., 2018. "Evaluating the causes of cost reduction in photovoltaic modules," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 700-710.
    17. Enrica Leccisi & Marco Raugei & Vasilis Fthenakis, 2016. "The Energy and Environmental Performance of Ground-Mounted Photovoltaic Systems—A Timely Update," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-13, August.
    18. Raugei, Marco & Sgouridis, Sgouris & Murphy, David & Fthenakis, Vasilis & Frischknecht, Rolf & Breyer, Christian & Bardi, Ugo & Barnhart, Charles & Buckley, Alastair & Carbajales-Dale, Michael & Csala, 2017. "Energy Return on Energy Invested (ERoEI) for photovoltaic solar systems in regions of moderate insolation: A comprehensive response," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 377-384.
    19. Demarty, M. & Bastien, J., 2011. "GHG emissions from hydroelectric reservoirs in tropical and equatorial regions: Review of 20 years of CH4 emission measurements," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 4197-4206, July.
    20. Graham Palmer, 2017. "A Framework for Incorporating EROI into Electrical Storage," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 2(2), pages 1-19, June.
    21. Chang, Chun-Ping & Dong, Minyi & Sui, Bo & Chu, Yin, 2019. "Driving forces of global carbon emissions: From time- and spatial-dynamic perspectives," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 70-80.
    22. Hansen, Kenneth & Breyer, Christian & Lund, Henrik, 2019. "Status and perspectives on 100% renewable energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 471-480.
    23. Raugei, Marco & Leccisi, Enrica, 2016. "A comprehensive assessment of the energy performance of the full range of electricity generation technologies deployed in the United Kingdom," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 46-59.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Černý, Martin & Bruckner, Martin & Weinzettel, Jan & Wiebe, Kirsten & Kimmich, Christian & Kerschner, Christian & Hubacek, Klaus, 2024. "Global employment and skill level requirements for ‘Post-Carbon Europe’," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    2. Delannoy, Louis & Longaretti, Pierre-Yves & Murphy, David J. & Prados, Emmanuel, 2021. "Peak oil and the low-carbon energy transition: A net-energy perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    3. Aljoša Slameršak & Giorgos Kallis & Daniel W. O’Neill, 2022. "Energy requirements and carbon emissions for a low-carbon energy transition," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    4. Jacques, Pierre & Delannoy, Louis & Andrieu, Baptiste & Yilmaz, Devrim & Jeanmart, Hervé & Godin, Antoine, 2023. "Assessing the economic consequences of an energy transition through a biophysical stock-flow consistent model," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    5. Chong, Cheng Tung & Fan, Yee Van & Lee, Chew Tin & Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír, 2022. "Post COVID-19 ENERGY sustainability and carbon emissions neutrality," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    6. Hasret Sahin & A. A. Solomon & Arman Aghahosseini & Christian Breyer, 2024. "Systemwide energy return on investment in a sustainable transition towards net zero power systems," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.
    7. Henning Meschede & Paul Bertheau & Siavash Khalili & Christian Breyer, 2022. "A review of 100% renewable energy scenarios on islands," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(6), November.
    8. D'Adamo, Idiano & Gastaldi, Massimo & Morone, Piergiuseppe, 2022. "Solar collective self-consumption: Economic analysis of a policy mix," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    9. Nick King & Aled Jones, 2020. "An Assessment of Civil Nuclear ‘Enabling’ and ‘Amelioration’ Factors for EROI Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-34, October.
    10. Marco Raugei & Alessio Peluso & Enrica Leccisi & Vasilis Fthenakis, 2020. "Life-Cycle Carbon Emissions and Energy Return on Investment for 80% Domestic Renewable Electricity with Battery Storage in California (U.S.A.)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-22, August.
    11. Kevin Pahud & Greg de Temmerman, 2022. "Overview of the EROI, a tool to measure energy availability through the energy transition," Post-Print hal-03780085, HAL.
    12. Marco Vittorio Ecclesia & João Santos & Paul E. Brockway & Tiago Domingos, 2022. "A Comprehensive Societal Energy Return on Investment Study of Portugal Reveals a Low but Stable Value," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-22, May.
    13. Hongshuo Yan & Lianyong Feng & Jianliang Wang & Yuanying Chi & Yue Ma, 2021. "A Comprehensive Net Energy Analysis and Outlook of Energy System in China," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 6(4), pages 1-14, December.
    14. Lowe, R.J. & Drummond, P., 2022. "Solar, wind and logistic substitution in global energy supply to 2050 – Barriers and implications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carlos de Castro & Iñigo Capellán-Pérez, 2020. "Standard, Point of Use, and Extended Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROI) from Comprehensive Material Requirements of Present Global Wind, Solar, and Hydro Power Technologies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-43, June.
    2. Aljoša Slameršak & Giorgos Kallis & Daniel W. O’Neill, 2022. "Energy requirements and carbon emissions for a low-carbon energy transition," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Patrick Moriarty & Damon Honnery, 2020. "Feasibility of a 100% Global Renewable Energy System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, October.
    4. Hong, Sanghyun & Kim, Eunsung & Jeong, Saerok, 2023. "Evaluating the sustainability of the hydrogen economy using multi-criteria decision-making analysis in Korea," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 485-492.
    5. Hongshuo Yan & Lianyong Feng & Jianliang Wang & Yuanying Chi & Yue Ma, 2021. "A Comprehensive Net Energy Analysis and Outlook of Energy System in China," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 6(4), pages 1-14, December.
    6. Walmsley, Timothy G. & Walmsley, Michael R.W. & Varbanov, Petar S. & Klemeš, Jiří J., 2018. "Energy Ratio analysis and accounting for renewable and non-renewable electricity generation: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 328-345.
    7. Roberto Leonardo Rana & Mariarosaria Lombardi & Pasquale Giungato & Caterina Tricase, 2020. "Trends in Scientific Literature on Energy Return Ratio of Renewable Energy Sources for Supporting Policymakers," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-17, March.
    8. David J. Murphy & Marco Raugei & Michael Carbajales-Dale & Brenda Rubio Estrada, 2022. "Energy Return on Investment of Major Energy Carriers: Review and Harmonization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-20, June.
    9. Kis, Zoltán & Pandya, Nikul & Koppelaar, Rembrandt H.E.M., 2018. "Electricity generation technologies: Comparison of materials use, energy return on investment, jobs creation and CO2 emissions reduction," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 144-157.
    10. Raugei, Marco & Sgouridis, Sgouris & Murphy, David & Fthenakis, Vasilis & Frischknecht, Rolf & Breyer, Christian & Bardi, Ugo & Barnhart, Charles & Buckley, Alastair & Carbajales-Dale, Michael & Csala, 2017. "Energy Return on Energy Invested (ERoEI) for photovoltaic solar systems in regions of moderate insolation: A comprehensive response," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 377-384.
    11. Patrick Moriarty & Damon Honnery, 2019. "Energy Accounting for a Renewable Energy Future," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-16, November.
    12. John W. Day & Christopher F. D’Elia & Adrian R. H. Wiegman & Jeffrey S. Rutherford & Charles A. S. Hall & Robert R. Lane & David E. Dismukes, 2018. "The Energy Pillars of Society: Perverse Interactions of Human Resource Use, the Economy, and Environmental Degradation," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-16, March.
    13. Marco Vittorio Ecclesia & João Santos & Paul E. Brockway & Tiago Domingos, 2022. "A Comprehensive Societal Energy Return on Investment Study of Portugal Reveals a Low but Stable Value," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-22, May.
    14. Lu, Bin & Blakers, Andrew & Stocks, Matthew & Do, Thang Nam, 2021. "Low-cost, low-emission 100% renewable electricity in Southeast Asia supported by pumped hydro storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    15. Aramendia, Emmanuel & Brockway, Paul E. & Taylor, Peter G. & Norman, Jonathan B., 2024. "Exploring the effects of mineral depletion on renewable energy technologies net energy returns," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    16. Graham Palmer & Joshua Floyd, 2017. "An Exploration of Divergence in EPBT and EROI for Solar Photovoltaics," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 2(4), pages 1-20, December.
    17. Ferroni, Ferruccio & Guekos, Alexandros & Hopkirk, Robert J., 2017. "Further considerations to: Energy Return on Energy Invested (ERoEI) for photovoltaic solar systems in regions of moderate insolation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 498-505.
    18. Emmanuel Aramendia & Paul E. Brockway & Peter G. Taylor & Jonathan B. Norman & Matthew K. Heun & Zeke Marshall, 2024. "Estimation of useful-stage energy returns on investment for fossil fuels and implications for renewable energy systems," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 9(7), pages 803-816, July.
    19. Colla, Martin & Ioannou, Anastasia & Falcone, Gioia, 2020. "Critical review of competitiveness indicators for energy projects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    20. Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Ram, Manish & Aghahosseini, Arman & Gulagi, Ashish & Oyewo, Ayobami Solomon & Child, Michael & Caldera, Upeksha & Sadovskaia, Kristina & Farfan, Javier & De Souza Noel Simas Barbos, 2021. "Low-cost renewable electricity as the key driver of the global energy transition towards sustainability," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:176:y:2020:i:c:s0921800919320543. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.