Introduction to energy balances - International Energy Agency

Introduction to energy balances IEA Online Statistics Summer School Session 4

Roberta Quadrelli Head - Energy Balances, Prices, Emissions, Efficiency

IEA Energy Data Centre

© OECD/IEA 2016

The importance of energy balances: bringing all pieces of information together

« …An accounting framework for compilation of data on all energy products entering, exiting and used within the national territory of a given country during a reference period. » Source: International Recommendations on Energy Statistics, UNSD, 2016 © OECD/IEA 2016

Why do we develop energy balances?  To understand overall energy use in country: - compute the total energy use - assess relative contribution of sources / sectors in total energy - compute efficiencies of transformation processes (e.g. electricity) -…

 To estimate high-level indicators and CO2 emissions  To provide a basis for demand projections  To assess data completeness and check quality of

the various energy commodity balances

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Part 1: How does an energy balance look like? What information does it provide?

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The energy balance matrix

Rows present flows across different products

Columns present “commodity balances” for each individual product © OECD/IEA 2016

How to compare data for different products?

Commodity balances for different products are made comparable by converting all data to a common energy unit We can compute total energy

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Give your opinion by voting…. To convert mass to energy units, we need  1. Specific gravities  2. Calorific values  3. Emission factors

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Answer To convert mass to energy units, we need  2. Calorific values

e.g. 1 kg of coking coal provides 28500 kJ

Calorific values vary by product, over time, by country, ... They are key for data quality! © OECD/IEA 2016

Understanding the flows of energy

1. Supply

2. Transformation

3. Final consumption

Three main “blocks” of flows © OECD/IEA 2016

1- Energy supply: the quick overview

High-level information: How much energy is produced and traded? How much is used? From what sources? … © OECD/IEA 2016

2- Transformation: the inter-relationships

Transforming energy sources

Input

Output

(coal)

(electricity)

Efficiency = output / input What products are transformed into one another? How efficiently? How much energy do these processes require?

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Give your opinion by voting…. The average efficiency for a coal-fired electricity generation plant is:  1.

35%  2. 55%  3. 65%

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Answer The average efficiency for a coal-fired electricity generation plant is: Coal input

 1.

35%

based on average global data, as efficiencies vary greatly by plant

Electricity output

Losses

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3- Final consumption: demand drivers

How much energy is delivered to the different end-users? What energy products are used for what? © OECD/IEA 2016

Give your opinion by voting…. What is the largest energy-consuming sector globally?  1. Residential

 2. Transport  3. Industry

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Answer: Globally, industry, but…

Shares vary greatly across countries… © OECD/IEA 2016

In summary… all information at a glance!

http://www.iea.org/Sankey/

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Part 2: Benefits of energy balances - examples

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Projecting energy demand across countries 

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Developing high-level indicators

Coupling energy balances data with various macro-economic variables © OECD/IEA 2016

Estimating CO2 emissions from fuel combustion

Based on energy balances and IPCC methodologies © OECD/IEA 2016

And finally… beyond energy balances to track energy efficiency at the end-use level

Energy Efficiency Indicators: Fundamentals on Statistics

…The next generation energy end-use data!

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Thank you for your attention… Any questions?

www.iea.org/statistics © OECD/IEA 2016