Net Energy Analysis
The State of the Art
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 31. July 2026
Book
Hardback
346 pages
978-1-032-98353-0 (ISBN)
Description
This book offers a comprehensive synthesis of recent advances in Net Energy Analysis (NEA), bridging gaps in the literature, integrating insights from multiple disciplines, and providing practical tools for future research.
Modern societies are built upon energy and, more precisely, net energy-the energy available after accounting for the energy required to build, operate, and maintain the energy system. NEA provides the science to assess net energy and its implications, often through the concept of energy return on investment (EROI). Over the past five decades, NEA has expanded from early EROI studies into a toolkit spanning process-based accounting, input-output analysis, hybrid methods, and system-wide assessments. This toolkit is increasingly used to evaluate transition pathways, yet the field still lacks a comprehensive synthesis. Net Energy Analysis: The State of the Art brings together leading scholars to clarify the definitions, concepts, metrics, and methods that define contemporary NEA, while also exploring connections with adjacent fields such as evolutionary biology, industrial ecology, and ecological economics. Part I examines different interpretations of net energy analysis, tracing its development from historical foundations to its relevance in financial markets and economics. Part II focuses on converging methodologies, including process-based approaches, input-output analysis, and a taxonomy of net energy metrics. Parts III and IV move into more advanced applications and emerging frontiers, such as system-level EROI estimation and the integration of net energy concepts into Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), among others.
The book will be a useful resource for students in energy and sustainability, whilst also offering both new and experienced scholars a concise summary of key debates and the latest cutting-edge contributions relevant to their research.
The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.
Modern societies are built upon energy and, more precisely, net energy-the energy available after accounting for the energy required to build, operate, and maintain the energy system. NEA provides the science to assess net energy and its implications, often through the concept of energy return on investment (EROI). Over the past five decades, NEA has expanded from early EROI studies into a toolkit spanning process-based accounting, input-output analysis, hybrid methods, and system-wide assessments. This toolkit is increasingly used to evaluate transition pathways, yet the field still lacks a comprehensive synthesis. Net Energy Analysis: The State of the Art brings together leading scholars to clarify the definitions, concepts, metrics, and methods that define contemporary NEA, while also exploring connections with adjacent fields such as evolutionary biology, industrial ecology, and ecological economics. Part I examines different interpretations of net energy analysis, tracing its development from historical foundations to its relevance in financial markets and economics. Part II focuses on converging methodologies, including process-based approaches, input-output analysis, and a taxonomy of net energy metrics. Parts III and IV move into more advanced applications and emerging frontiers, such as system-level EROI estimation and the integration of net energy concepts into Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), among others.
The book will be a useful resource for students in energy and sustainability, whilst also offering both new and experienced scholars a concise summary of key debates and the latest cutting-edge contributions relevant to their research.
The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.
Reviews / Votes
"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 - Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Academic, Postgraduate, and Undergraduate Advanced
Illustrations
4 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder, 40 s/w Zeichnungen, 16 s/w Tabellen, 44 s/w Abbildungen
16 Tables, black and white; 40 Line drawings, black and white; 4 Halftones, black and white; 44 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-032-98353-0 (9781032983530)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Louis Delannoy is a 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.
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.
Content
List of figures
List of tables
List of Contributors
Acknowledgements
Part 1 - Interpretations of Net Energy Analysis
Chapter 1. What is Net Energy Analysis, and why is it more useful than ever?
Louis Delannoy and David J. Murphy
Chapter 2. Historical Roots of Net Energy Analysis and Energy Return on Investment
Charles A.S. Hall
Chapter 3. What Net Energy Analysis Can and Cannot Tell Financial Analysts
Louis Delannoy and Jan-Pieter Oosterom
Chapter 4. What Net Energy Analysis Can and Cannot Tell Economists
Charles Guay-Boutet and Alban Pellegris
Part 2 - Net Energy Analysis: A Primer
Chapter 5. A Taxonomy of Net Energy Metrics
Michael Carbajales-Dale
Chapter 6. Methodologies for Calculating Energy Return Ratios using Process-Based Approaches
Marco Raugei
Chapter 7. Methodologies for Calculating Energy Return Ratios using Input-Output Based Approaches
Emmanuel Aramendia, Matthew K. Heun and Paul E. Brockway
Part 3 - Net Energy Analysis: Advanced Applications
Chapter 8. Extended-Exergy based Energy Return on Investment
Marcus Vinicius da Silva Neves, Alexandre Szklo and Roberto Schaeffer
Chapter 9. Systemwide Energy Return on Investment for Power Systems
Hasret Sahin, A. A. Solomon and Christian Breyer
Chapter 10. Energy Return on Investment at the Societal Level: A Novel Comprehensive Measure
Marco Vittorio Ecclesia, Joao Santos, Paul E. Brockway and Tiago Domingos
Chapter 11. Dynamic Energy return on Energy Investment of the System in Mitigation Pathways
Tristan Martin, Inigo Capellan-Perez, Juan Manuel Campos-Rodriguez and Carlos de Castro Carranza
Part 4 - Charting New Frontiers for Net Energy Analysis
Chapter 12. The Role of Agricultural Systems in the Energy Transition to a New Solar Based Economy from a Net Energy Analysis Perspective
Enric Tello
Chapter 13. EROI and Ecological Macroeconomics: A Commodity-by-Industry Approach
Martin Sers
Chapter 14. Industrial Energy in IAMs: Looking for Richer Biophysical Foundations in Modelling Accounting Structures
Michele Manfroni, Hugo Le Boulzec, Baptiste Andrieu, Louis Delannoy, Francois Verzier, Sandrine Mathy and Olivier Vidal
Chapter 15. New Frontiers for Net Energy Analysis: Law and the Sociometabolic Regime Shift
Benoit Schmaltz
Chapter 16. The Implications of Net Energy Decline for Global Futures: Bringing Together Net Energy Analysis and Marxist Political Ecology
Michael J. Albert
Chapter 17. The Equal Fitness Paradigm: a thermodynamic synthesis in evolutionary biology
Timothy McWhirter
List of tables
List of Contributors
Acknowledgements
Part 1 - Interpretations of Net Energy Analysis
Chapter 1. What is Net Energy Analysis, and why is it more useful than ever?
Louis Delannoy and David J. Murphy
Chapter 2. Historical Roots of Net Energy Analysis and Energy Return on Investment
Charles A.S. Hall
Chapter 3. What Net Energy Analysis Can and Cannot Tell Financial Analysts
Louis Delannoy and Jan-Pieter Oosterom
Chapter 4. What Net Energy Analysis Can and Cannot Tell Economists
Charles Guay-Boutet and Alban Pellegris
Part 2 - Net Energy Analysis: A Primer
Chapter 5. A Taxonomy of Net Energy Metrics
Michael Carbajales-Dale
Chapter 6. Methodologies for Calculating Energy Return Ratios using Process-Based Approaches
Marco Raugei
Chapter 7. Methodologies for Calculating Energy Return Ratios using Input-Output Based Approaches
Emmanuel Aramendia, Matthew K. Heun and Paul E. Brockway
Part 3 - Net Energy Analysis: Advanced Applications
Chapter 8. Extended-Exergy based Energy Return on Investment
Marcus Vinicius da Silva Neves, Alexandre Szklo and Roberto Schaeffer
Chapter 9. Systemwide Energy Return on Investment for Power Systems
Hasret Sahin, A. A. Solomon and Christian Breyer
Chapter 10. Energy Return on Investment at the Societal Level: A Novel Comprehensive Measure
Marco Vittorio Ecclesia, Joao Santos, Paul E. Brockway and Tiago Domingos
Chapter 11. Dynamic Energy return on Energy Investment of the System in Mitigation Pathways
Tristan Martin, Inigo Capellan-Perez, Juan Manuel Campos-Rodriguez and Carlos de Castro Carranza
Part 4 - Charting New Frontiers for Net Energy Analysis
Chapter 12. The Role of Agricultural Systems in the Energy Transition to a New Solar Based Economy from a Net Energy Analysis Perspective
Enric Tello
Chapter 13. EROI and Ecological Macroeconomics: A Commodity-by-Industry Approach
Martin Sers
Chapter 14. Industrial Energy in IAMs: Looking for Richer Biophysical Foundations in Modelling Accounting Structures
Michele Manfroni, Hugo Le Boulzec, Baptiste Andrieu, Louis Delannoy, Francois Verzier, Sandrine Mathy and Olivier Vidal
Chapter 15. New Frontiers for Net Energy Analysis: Law and the Sociometabolic Regime Shift
Benoit Schmaltz
Chapter 16. The Implications of Net Energy Decline for Global Futures: Bringing Together Net Energy Analysis and Marxist Political Ecology
Michael J. Albert
Chapter 17. The Equal Fitness Paradigm: a thermodynamic synthesis in evolutionary biology
Timothy McWhirter