Energy statistics refers to collecting, compiling, analyzing and disseminating data on commodities such as
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as stratum, rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen ...
,
crude oil,
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...
,
electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...
, or renewable energy sources (
biomass
Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms biom ...
,
geothermal,
wind
Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ...
or
solar energy
Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an ...
), when they are used for the energy they contain.
Energy
In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...
is the capability of some substances, resulting from their physico-chemical properties, to do
work or produce
heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
. Some energy commodities, called
fuels
A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
, release their
energy content as heat when they
burn
A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...
. This heat could be used to run an
internal
Internal may refer to:
* Internality as a concept in behavioural economics
*Neijia, internal styles of Chinese martial arts
*Neigong
Neigong, also spelled ''nei kung'', ''neigung'', or ''nae gong'', refers to any of a set of Chinese breathing, ...
or
external combustion engine.
The need to have
statistics on energy commodities became obvious during the
1973 oil crisis that brought tenfold increase in
petroleum prices
The price of oil, or the oil price, generally refers to the spot price of a barrel () of benchmark crude oil—a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Crude, Dubai Crude, OPEC ...
. Before the crisis, to have accurate data on global energy supply and demand was not deemed critical. Another concern of energy statistics today is a huge gap in energy use between
developed and
developing
Development or developing may refer to:
Arts
*Development hell, when a project is stuck in development
*Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting
*Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped
* Photograph ...
countries. As the gap narrows (''see picture''), the pressure on energy supply increases tremendously.
The data on energy and electricity come from three principal sources:
*
Energy industry
The energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution. Modern society consumes large amounts of fuel, and the energy industr ...
* Other industries ("self-producers")
* Consumers
The flows of and trade in energy commodities are measured both in physical units (e.g.,
metric ton
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
s), and, when
energy balances are calculated, in energy units (e.g.,
terajoules or
tons of oil equivalent). What makes energy statistics specific and different from other fields of
economic statistics is the fact that energy commodities undergo greater number of transformations (flows) than other commodities. In these transformations energy is conserved, as defined by and within the limitations of the
first and
second laws of thermodynamics.
See also
{{Portal, Energy
*
Energy system
*
World energy resources and consumption
World energy supply and consumption is global production and preparation of fuel, generation of electricity, energy transport, and energy consumption. It is a basic part of economic activity. It includes heat, but not energy from food.
This art ...
External links
Statistical Energy Database Review: Enerdata Yearbook 2012International Energy Agency: StatisticsThe Oslo Group on Energy StatisticsDOE Energy Information AdministrationYear of Energy 2009European Energy Statistics & Key Indicators
Publications
Statistical data sets
Energy
Applied statistics