Net energy and strategic decision‐making

Abstract

AbstractRecent calls for the dismissal of net energy are based on an inadequate understanding of the concept and are profoundly mistaken. Net energy captures one of the most important characteristics of an energy resource, and is central to strategic thinking about long‐term energy futures. Net energy relates the economy's need for energy to the energy expenditure required to meet that need. It determines the relative size of the energy sector in the economy. With high‐net‐energy fossil resources under threat, the strategic challenge is to find alternatives with comparable net energies. The calls for the dismissal of net energy are based on a number of misunderstandings about the treatment of primary and fossil resources in the calculation. Underlying them is a concern with the introduction of alternative fuels in the current economy rather than with the nature of energy supply in a post‐fossil world. This is a legitimate concern that may well require other metrics, but it is not a reason to dismiss net energy. © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd