DIRECTIVE 2004/8/EC

Overview of the European energy system Energy flows in European Union The Sankey diagram (Fig.1) shows the energy conversion from primary energy (coal, oil, natural gas, etc) to secondary energy commodities such as heat, electricity and manufactured fuels, through transformation plants (power stations, district heating, CHPs, oil refineries and other transformation plants) and the associated conversion losses. The right hand side of the diagram shows the final mix of energy consumption by different EU27 energy users (including: industry, transport, domestic, other final consumers and non-energy use). Note that renewables in transport for ENER 36 include all biofuels whether sustainable or not. Only a proportion of the primary energy entering the energy system of a country flows through to the end user for consumption. There are various diversions and losses incurred before energy reaches the final consumer due to distribution losses and use in the energy sector. The Sankey diagram is useful in capturing the situation in a certain year but other indicators are needed to show the change in energy use over time. Energy efficiency of conventional thermal electricity and heat production Output from conventional thermal stations consists of gross electricity generation and also of any heat sold to third parties (combined heat and power plants) by conventional thermal public utility power stations as well as autoproducer thermal power stations. The energy efficiency of conventional thermal electricity production (which includes both public plants and autoproducers) is defined as the ratio of electricity and heat production to the energy input as a fuel. Fuels include solid fuels (i.e. coal, lignite and equivalents, oil and other liquid hydrocarbons, gas, thermal renewables (industrial and municipal waste, wood waste, biogas and geothermal energy) and other non-renewable waste. Units: Fuel input and electrical and heat output are measured in thousand tonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe). Efficiency is measured as the ratio of fuel output to input (%) Energy losses in transformation and distribution Numerator: Share of energy losses is the sum of own consumption of the energy industry, distribution losses and transformation losses (difference between transformation input and output). Denominator: Numerator plus final energy available for final consumption in primary energy. EU-27 Share of primary energy by fuel type and, share of final energy consumption by sector Total energy consumption or gross inland energy consumption represents the quantity of energy necessary to satisfy the inland consumption of a country. It is calculated as the sum of the gross inland consumption of energy from solid fuels, oil, gas, nuclear and renewable sources, and a small component of ‘other’ sources (industrial waste and net imports of electricity). The relative contribution of a specific fuel is measured by the ratio between the energy consumption originating from that specific fuel and the total gross inland energy consumption calculated for a calendar year (Fig.2). Units: Energy consumption is measured in thousand tonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe). The share of each fuel in total energy consumption is presented in the form of a percentage. EU27 net energy imports of solid fuels, oil, and gas from outside the EU27 was calculated as follows: total imports by fuel minus the sum of imports by fuel from other EU Member States minus total exports (Fig.1)

Efficiency of conventional thermal electricity generation Output from conventional thermal power stations consists of gross electricity generation and also of any heat sold to third parties (combined heat and power plants) by conventional thermal public utility power stations as well as autoproducer thermal power stations. The energy efficiency of conventional thermal electricity production (which includes both public plants and autoproducers) is defined as the ratio of electricity and heat production to the energy input as a fuel. Fuels include solid fuels (i.e. coal, lignite and equivalents, oil and other liquid hydrocarbons, gas, thermal renewables (industrial and municipal waste, wood waste, biogas and geothermal energy) and other non-renewable waste.

Combined heat and power (CHP) The share of combined heat and power (CHP) electricity production is the ratio between the electricity produced from combined heat and power plants (based upon the consideration of individual units within the plants) and the gross electricity production calculated for a calendar year. The former is expressed as a percentage of the latter. It measures the contribution of electricity produced from CHP to total electricity production. However, there are several important qualifications as not all the electricity and (useful) heat produced in CHP plants can be considered CHP production. This is explained in section 6 of the metadata. It should also be noted that although the indicator focuses on CHP electricity the quantity of useful heat recovered is almost 2.5 times higher in energy terms.

Efficiency of conventional thermal electricity generation Output from conventional thermal power stations consists of gross electricity generation and also of any heat sold to third parties (combined heat and power plants) by conventional thermal public utility power stations as well as autoproducer thermal power stations. The energy efficiency of conventional thermal electricity production (which includes both public plants and autoproducers) is defined as the ratio of electricity and heat production to the energy input as a fuel. Fuels include solid fuels (i.e. coal, lignite and equivalents, oil and other liquid hydrocarbons, gas, thermal renewables (industrial and municipal waste, wood waste, biogas and geothermal energy) and other non-renewable waste.

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