Net Energy Analysis

Louis Delannoy is Researcher at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Sweden. He combines methods derived from social ecological systems and ecological economics to study how crises historically take shape, how they are perceived, and how to respond to them.David J. Murphy is Professor of Environmental Studies at St. Lawrence University (USA), where he teaches courses in renewable energy and life-cycle assessment and examines the intersections of energy systems, economics, and the environment.

“The net energy surplus we draw out of nature is the fuel of the economic process. This volume provides indispensable concepts and tools for understanding and quantifying this original surplus upon which economies depend.”– Giorgos Kallis, ICREA Professor at ICTA-UAB“Net energy analysis provides unique insights into the connections among energy systems, the economy, and the environment. Net Energy Analysis: The State of the Art is an excellent introduction to this important methodology, including how its conceptual foundations can help guide the clean energy transition.”– Cutler J. Cleveland, Professor at Boston University“This rich, amazing volume provides the most comprehensive synthesis to date of the significance of net energy in human affairs. Louis Delannoy and David Murphy have put together a truly impressive collection of contributions. The reader learns from history, about concepts, methods, and applications to new exciting frontiers ranging from evolutionary biology and agriculture to macroeconomics and law. Highly recommended and a must read for those engaged with energy transition pathways.”– Professor Carl Folke, The Beijer Institute and the Stockholm Resilience Centre“Energy underpins almost all social and economic outcomes. Its extraction from nature is a key driver behind human pressures on biospheric and climatic systems. This volume presents a plethora of current perspectives on a key aspect of energy, i.e. the fraction that can be harnessed to provide useful services. An essential read for everyone aiming to understand the (un)sustainability of social metabolism.”– Helmut Haberl, Professor at the Institute of Social Ecology, BOKU University, Vienna“Energy is central to human societies. This book on Net Energy Analysis provides a fantastic resource on the whole breadth of the field. It covers the conceptual basics as well as many practical applications from diverse fields, ranging from the social sciences, to ecology and the energy transition.”– Axel Kleidon, Group Leader at Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry“As societies confront the intertwined challenges of decarbonization, resource constraints, and social cohesion, understanding net energy is more important than ever. This outstanding volume provides a timely and rigorous synthesis of Net Energy Analysis, establishing a crucial reference for the next generation of research on sustainable socio-economic transformations.”– Simone d’Alessandro, Professor at the Department of Economics and Management of the University of Pisa

• List of figuresList of tablesList of ContributorsAcknowledgementsPart 1 - Interpretations of Net Energy AnalysisChapter 1. What is Net Energy Analysis, and why is it more useful than ever?Louis Delannoy and David J. MurphyChapter 2. Historical Roots of Net Energy Analysis and Energy Return on InvestmentCharles A.S. HallChapter 3. What Net Energy Analysis Can and Cannot Tell Financial AnalystsLouis Delannoy and Jan-Pieter OosteromChapter 4. What Net Energy Analysis Can and Cannot Tell EconomistsCharles Guay-Boutet and Alban PellegrisPart 2 - Net Energy Analysis: A PrimerChapter 5. A Taxonomy of Net Energy MetricsMichael Carbajales-DaleChapter 6. Methodologies for Calculating Energy Return Ratios using Process-Based ApproachesMarco RaugeiChapter 7. Methodologies for Calculating Energy Return Ratios using Input-Output Based ApproachesEmmanuel Aramendia, Matthew K. Heun and Paul E. BrockwayPart 3 - Net Energy Analysis: Advanced ApplicationsChapter 8. Extended-Exergy based Energy Return on InvestmentMarcus Vinicius da Silva Neves, Alexandre Szklo and Roberto SchaefferChapter 9. Systemwide Energy Return on Investment for Power SystemsHasret Şahin, A. A. Solomon and Christian BreyerChapter 10. Energy Return on Investment at the Societal Level: A Novel Comprehensive MeasureMarco Vittorio Ecclesia, João Santos, Paul E. Brockway and Tiago DomingosChapter 11. Dynamic Energy return on Energy Investment of the System in Mitigation PathwaysTristan Martin, Iñigo Capellán-Pérez, Juan Manuel Campos-Rodríguez and Carlos de Castro CarranzaPart 4 - Charting New Frontiers for Net Energy AnalysisChapter 12. The Role of Agricultural Systems in the Energy Transition to a New Solar Based Economy from a Net Energy Analysis PerspectiveEnric TelloChapter 13. EROI and Ecological Macroeconomics: A Commodity-by-Industry ApproachMartin SersChapter 14. Industrial Energy in IAMs: Looking for Richer Biophysical Foundations in Modelling Accounting StructuresMichele Manfroni, Hugo Le Boulzec, Baptiste Andrieu, Louis Delannoy, Francois Verzier, Sandrine Mathy and Olivier VidalChapter 15. New Frontiers for Net Energy Analysis: Law and the Sociometabolic Regime ShiftBenoît SchmaltzChapter 16. The Implications of Net Energy Decline for Global Futures: Bringing Together Net Energy Analysis and Marxist Political EcologyMichael J. AlbertChapter 17. The Equal Fitness Paradigm: a thermodynamic synthesis in evolutionary biologyTimothy McWhirter