IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v120y2018icp52-57.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

EROI and the Icelandic society

Author

Listed:
  • Atlason, Reynir Smari

Abstract

In this paper, the societal Energy Return on Investment (EROIsoc) is estimated for Iceland between 1960 and the present. The results indicate that the overall EROIsoc was around 27:1 in the early 1960s, and was volatile for a period of time before stabilizing at around 45:1 in 1974 after establishing a strong mix of renewable energy. These findings further show that Icelanders have generally had access to energy sources with higher EROI than if they had relied on fossil fuels, except for the period between 1963 and 1967. If they had relied on fossil fuels alone, Icelanders would now have access to combined resources with an EROI of around 16:1, likely too low for prosperity, and an even lower EROI for long periods of time. Regarding policies, this paper shows that relying on an energy grid mix with an EROI higher than 20-30:1, especially for island nations, has the potential to raise the standard of living greatly. For policymakers in island nations, attention should be given to this relationship between high-EROI energy sources with low price volatility and the standard of living.

Suggested Citation

  • Atlason, Reynir Smari, 2018. "EROI and the Icelandic society," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 52-57.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:120:y:2018:i:c:p:52-57
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2018.04.069
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030142151830288X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.04.069?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. Ajay K. Gupta & Charles A.S. Hall, 2011. "A Review of the Past and Current State of EROI Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(10), pages 1-14, October.
    2. Gilliland, M.W. & Klopatek, J.M. & Hildebrand, S.G., 1981. "Net energy: Results for small-scale hydroelectric power and summary of existing analyses," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 6(10), pages 1029-1040.
    3. Gagnon, Luc & Belanger, Camille & Uchiyama, Yohji, 2002. "Life-cycle assessment of electricity generation options: The status of research in year 2001," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(14), pages 1267-1278, November.
    4. Lambert, Jessica G. & Hall, Charles A.S. & Balogh, Stephen & Gupta, Ajay & Arnold, Michelle, 2014. "Energy, EROI and quality of life," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 153-167.
    5. Kittner, Noah & Gheewala, Shabbir H. & Kammen, Daniel M., 2016. "Energy return on investment (EROI) of mini-hydro and solar PV systems designed for a mini-grid," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 410-419.
    6. Atlason, R.S. & Unnthorsson, R., 2014. "Energy return on investment of hydroelectric power generation calculated using a standardised methodology," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 364-370.
    7. Charles Hall & Pradeep Tharakan & John Hallock & Cutler Cleveland & Michael Jefferson, 2003. "Hydrocarbons and the evolution of human culture," Nature, Nature, vol. 426(6964), pages 318-322, November.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. Gagnon, Luc, 2008. "Civilisation and energy payback," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 3317-3322, September.
    11. Charles Neumeyer & Robert Goldston, 2016. "Dynamic EROI Assessment of the IPCC 21st Century Electricity Production Scenario," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-15, April.
    12. Atlason, R.S. & Unnthorsson, R., 2013. "Hot water production improves the energy return on investment of geothermal power plants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 273-280.
    13. David J. Murphy & Charles A.S. Hall & Michael Dale & Cutler Cleveland, 2011. "Order from Chaos: A Preliminary Protocol for Determining the EROI of Fuels," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(10), pages 1-20, October.
    14. Charles A.S. Hall & Bruce E. Dale & David Pimentel, 2011. "Seeking to Understand the Reasons for Different Energy Return on Investment (EROI) Estimates for Biofuels," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(12), pages 1-20, December.
    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. Carlos E. Gómez-Camacho & Bernardo Ruggeri, 2019. "Energy Sustainability Analysis (ESA) of Energy-Producing Processes: A Case Study on Distributed H 2 Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-23, September.

    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. 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.
    2. Salehi, Mohammad & Khajehpour, Hossein & Saboohi, Yadollah, 2020. "Extended Energy Return on Investment of multiproduct energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    3. Atlason, R.S. & Unnthorsson, R., 2014. "Energy return on investment of hydroelectric power generation calculated using a standardised methodology," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 364-370.
    4. Buus, Tomáš, 2017. "Energy efficiency and energy prices: A general mathematical framework," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 743-754.
    5. Kittner, Noah & Gheewala, Shabbir H. & Kammen, Daniel M., 2016. "Energy return on investment (EROI) of mini-hydro and solar PV systems designed for a mini-grid," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 410-419.
    6. Ke Zhao & Jingxuan Feng & Lianyong Feng, 2021. "Analysis of the Long-Term Impact of Energy Expenditure on Economic Growth: A Case Study of China," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 6(4), pages 1-16, December.
    7. Zhaoyang Kong & Xiucheng Dong & Bo Xu & Rui Li & Qiang Yin & Cuifang Song, 2015. "EROI Analysis for Direct Coal Liquefaction without and with CCS: The Case of the Shenhua DCL Project in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-22, January.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. 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).
    12. 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.
    13. Fizaine, Florian & Court, Victor, 2015. "Renewable electricity producing technologies and metal depletion: A sensitivity analysis using the EROI," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 106-118.
    14. Herendeen, Robert A., 2015. "Connecting net energy with the price of energy and other goods and services," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 142-149.
    15. Fizaine, Florian & Court, Victor, 2016. "Energy expenditure, economic growth, and the minimum EROI of society," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 172-186.
    16. Jingxuan Feng & Lianyong Feng & Jianliang Wang, 2018. "Analysis of Point-of-Use Energy Return on Investment and Net Energy Yields from China’s Conventional Fossil Fuels," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-21, February.
    17. Adrien Fabre, 2018. "Evolution of EROIs of Electricity Until 2050: Estimation Using the Input-Output Model THEMIS," Policy Papers 2018.09, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    18. Atlason, Reynir & Unnthorsson, Runar, 2014. "Ideal EROI (energy return on investment) deepens the understanding of energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 241-245.
    19. da Silva Neves, Marcus Vinicius & Szklo, Alexandre & Schaeffer, Roberto, 2023. "Fossil fuel facilities exergy return for a frontier of analysis incorporating CO2 capture: The case of a coal power plant," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    20. Graham Palmer, 2018. "A Biophysical Perspective of IPCC Integrated Energy Modelling," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-17, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    EROI; Iceland; Resource quality;
    All these keywords.

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:enepol:v:120:y:2018:i:c:p:52-57. 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/enpol .

    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.