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Many sources of energy, such as fission, solar, wind, and coal, are not subject to the same near-term supply restrictions that oil is. Accordingly, even an oil source with an EROEI of 0.5 can be usefully exploited if the energy required to produce that oil comes from a cheap and plentiful energy source.
Although the life cycle assessments of each energy source should attempt to cover the full life cycle of the source from cradle-to-grave, they are generally limited to the construction and operation phase. The most rigorously studied phases are those of material and fuel mining, construction, operation, and waste management.
Life cycle energy analysis (LCEA) is an approach in which all energy inputs to a product are accounted for, not only direct energy inputs during manufacture, but also all energy inputs needed to produce components, materials and services needed for the manufacturing process. [111] With LCEA, the total life cycle energy input is established. [112]
Energy sources with low environmental impact are sometimes called green energy or clean energy. The economic dimension of sustainability covers economic development, efficient use of energy, and energy security to ensure that each country has constant access to sufficient energy.
The study also found that the environmental and health costs of nuclear power, per unit of energy delivered, was €0.0019/kWh, which was found to be lower than that of many renewable sources including that caused by biomass and photovoltaic solar panels, and was thirty times lower than coal at €0.06/kWh, or 6 cents/kWh, with the energy ...
As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly via combustion to produce heat, or converted to a more energy-dense biofuel like ethanol. Wood is the most significant biomass energy source as of 2012 [103] and is usually sourced from a trees cleared for silvicultural reasons or fire prevention.
The strategy tries to evaluate the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of products and operations and sets reduction targets accordingly. [20] Furthermore, their environmental efforts is based on four key issues: substance management, energy efficiency, recycling, promoting environmental sustainability. [21]
Energy efficiency was a lower priority when energy was cheap and awareness of its environmental impact was low. In 1975 the average fuel economy of a car in the US was under 15 miles per gallon [ 6 ] Incandescent light bulbs, which were the most common type until the late 20th century, waste 90% of their energy as heat, with only 10% converted ...