Glossary

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is a US Government agency charged with providing official energy statistics. Its stated mission is to provide policy-neutral data, forecasts, and analyses to promote sound policy making, efficient markets, and public understanding regarding energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment.

Energy Intensity is the amount of energy consumed per unit of output. It can be applied at the level of a machine, a production line, a factory, or a process plant. It is also used by governments and industry bodies to characterize whole country economies and industry sectors.

Industry sectors where energy costs are a significant part of total costs are called ‘energy intensive’ sectors – for example, manufacture of cement, chemicals (including petrochemicals), primary metals and paper. Companies in energy intensive sectors almost always use energy intensity as a key performance indicator.

Energy returned on energy invested (EROEI) is used in energy provider industries as a guide to the viability and profitability of a resource. In oil well development, EROEI is the energy the well will produce as end fuel, expressed as a multiple of the energy required to extract and process it.