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Towards an improved methodology for Energy Return on Investment (EROI) for electricity supply

Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The challenge of decarbonising electricity grids is urgent, but pathways towards decarbonisation are uncertain.Integrated assessment models (IAMs) and energy system optimisation models (ESOMs) are used to project future low emission scenarios to provide policy guidance.Cost minimization is a key objective function.Although economic analyses can identify pathways that are economically infeasible, they cannot identify those that are energetically infeasible.Net-energy analysis (NEA), using the energy return on investment (EROI) metric, has the potential to supplement conventional economic and environmental models by providing an energetic valuation of energy supply.However, a lack of methodological consistency has limited the utility of this approach.This thesis provides a foundation for incorporating NEA into energy modelling by addressing the methodological inconsistencies, specifically in relation to electricity-based EROI analyses.The research method is to approach the methodological problem from two 'directions', based on the conceptual idea of hybrid-life cycle assessment (LCA).Firstly, using a top-down approach for systematic completeness; and a bottom-up approach for a more detailed technology-specific analysis.The top-down approach includes an environmentally extended input-output analysis (EEIOA) of the Australian electricity supply industry.This is the first study to calculate the EROI of electricity at Publications Resulting from Work Reported in this ThesisThis thesis contains five papers that have been published in Energy, Energies, and BioPhysical Economics and Resource Quality, including:• Palmer, G. 2017, 'An input-output based net-energy assessment of an electricity supply industry', Energy, vol.
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2905868155
Cites: 241
Cited by: 1
Related to: 10