Primary energy

Primary energy (PE) is the energy found in nature that has not been subjected to any human engineered conversion process. It encompasses energy contained in raw fuels and other forms of energy, including waste, received as input to a system. Primary energy can be non-renewable or renewable. Primary energy is used in energy statistics in the compilation of energy balances, as well as in the field of energetics. In energetics, a primary energy source (PES) refers to the energy forms required by the energy sector to generate the supply of energy carriers used by human society. Total primary energy supply (TPES) is the sum of production and imports, plus or minus stock changes, minus exports and international bunker storage. The International Recommendations for Energy Statistics (IRES) prefers total energy supply (TES) to refer to this indicator. These expressions are often used to describe the total energy supply of a national territory. Secondary energy is a carrier of energy, such as electricity. These are produced by conversion from a primary energy source. Primary energy sources should not be confused with the energy system components (or conversion processes) through which they are converted into energy carriers. exergy Primary energy sources are transformed in energy conversion processes to more convenient forms of energy that can directly be used by society, such as electrical energy, refined fuels, or synthetic fuels such as hydrogen fuel. In the field of energetics, these forms are called energy carriers and correspond to the concept of "secondary energy" in energy statistics. Energy carriers are energy forms which have been transformed from primary energy sources. Electricity is one of the most common energy carriers, being transformed from various primary energy sources such as coal, oil, natural gas, and wind. Electricity is particularly useful since it has low entropy (is highly ordered) and so can be converted into other forms of energy very efficiently. District heating is another example of secondary energy.