Category Archives: Charles A. S. Hall

Charles Hall is the originator of the concept of EROI. As a tenured professor not funded by any special interests, he is one of the most respected, cited, and unbiased scientists writing on EROI.

“The concept of EROI was introduced by US fisheries ecologist Charles Hall, who noted that the energy a predator gained from eating prey had to exceed the energy expended in catching it. In 1981, Hall applied this net energy analysis to our own power generation activities, charting the decline of the EROI of US oil as ever more drilling was required to yield a given quantity, and suggesting the possibility that oil may one day take more energy to extract than it yields. Hall and others have since estimated the EROI for various power sources, a difficult analysis that requires identification of all energy inputs to power production.

EROI is a fundamental thermodynamic metric on power generation. Net energy analysis affords high-level insights that may not be evident from looking at factors such as energy costs, technological development, efficiency and fuel reserves, and sets real bounds on future energy pathways. It is unfortunately largely absent from energy and climate policy development.”
I found this description of Hall at an excellent article about energy storage and EROI by John Morgan that I highly recommend reading: http://climatechangefork.blog.brooklyn.edu/2014/11/04/guest-blog-john-morgan-the-catch-22-of-energy-storage-and-eroi/