#### READ ME #### 1. ABOUT THE DATASET -------------------- Title: Dataset associated with "Exploring the effects of mineral depletion on renewable energy technologies net energy returns" Creator: Emmanuel Aramendia [1], Paul E. Brockway [1], Peter G. Taylor [1], Jonathan Norman [1] Organisation: [1] Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds. Date: ==================== 11/01/2023 ============================= Description: This file provides information on the data contained in the online repository associated with the paper "Exploring the effects of mineral depletion on renewable energy technologies net energy returns", published in Energy. doi: ===== 10.1016/j.energy.2023.130112 ====. Cite as: Dataset associated with "Exploring the effects of mineral depletion on renewable energy technologies net energy returns", 2024. Emmanuel Aramendia, Paul E. Brockway, Peter G. Taylor, Jonathan Norman. doi: ===== 10.5518/1469 ====. Related publication: Exploring the effects of mineral depletion on renewable energy technologies net energy returns. Emmanuel Aramendia, Paul E. Brockway, Peter G. Taylor, Jonathan Norman. Energy, 2024. doi: ======== 10.1016/j.energy.2023.130112 ========= File types and content: The files of this repository can be classified in terms of: * main scripts (R files starting with a number): relevant code to reproduce the analysis; * input data: the input data matches the input data provided in the SI (.xlsx or .ods file) of the main paper, but in the format that is read by the R code. 2. TERMS OF USE --------------- This dataset is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.] Note that the input data may however be subject to another license. See Section 4. 3. SCRIPTS IN THE DATASET ------------------------- ## Main scripts: * 1_effects_depletion.R: Calculates the effects of mineral depletion on the EROI and net energy returns of renewable energy technologies using the default energy intensities (provided in the raw_energy_intensities.csv file). These calculations correspond to the main paper Figures 2-7 (for Figure 4, the calculations in 2_MC_simulation.R are also needed). * 2_MC_simulation.R: Performs a sensitivity analysis of the analysis in the script 1_effects_depletion.R on the energy intensities of mining using a Monte Carlo simulation. * 3_offsetting_effects.R: Calculates the potential of technological factors to offset the effects of mineral depletion. These calculations correspond to the main paper Figure 8. * 4_final_to_primary_coefficients.R: Shows how to use the Multi-Regional Physical Supply Use Table framework in combination with the International Energy Agency Extended World Energy Balances) to determine final-to-primary energy coefficients specific to the mining and to the metallurgical sectors. * 5_figures.R: Code to reproduce all figures in the main paper. 4. INPUT DATA FILES, DESCRIPTION AND ASSOCIATED REFERENCES ---------------------------------------------------------- ## MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS FILE File: raw_material_requirements.csv Description: Material requirements for each low-carbon technology analysed (solar PV, CSP, wind onshore, and wind offshore). The values are taken from Castro and Capellán-Pérez 2020. Associated reference: de Castro and Capellán-Pérez 2020. Standard, Point of Use, and Extended Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROI) from Comprehensive Material Requirements of Present Global Wind, Solar, and Hydro Power Technologies. 2020. Energies. doi: 10.3390/en13123036. ## ENERGY INTENSITIES FILE File: raw_energy_intensities.csv Description: Energy intensities data used as input, measured as Cumulative Energy Demand (CED), which stands for primary energy requirements (see main paper). Specifically: * Fm stands for the average CED of mining a given mineral; * Phi_m stands for the average CED of refining (downstream processing) a given mineral; * Sm stands for for the average CED of recycling a given mineral. These data match with data provided in SI-2. See SI-2 for the reference associated to each energy intensity value. 5. FUNDING INFORMATION ---------------------------------- We acknowledge support for P.E.B. under EPSRC Fellowship award EP/R024251/1, and for E.A., funded by the School of Earth of Environment of the University of Leeds, UK, in support for P.E.B.’s fellowship award. The contributions of P.G.T. and J.N. were supported by the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions funded by UK Research and Innovation (grant number EP/R035288/1).