Norway tops the Energy Architecture Performance Index (EAPI) 2013 ranking with an overall score of .75, while the US, scoring .56, ranks No. 55.
Sweden, France, Switzerland and New Zealand, respectively, round out the top five (see chart).
According to the Global Energy Architecture Performance Index Report 2013, published by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Accenture, the EAPI is a tool intended to help decision-makers transition to a new energy architecture. It measures 16 indicators relating to the three energy imperatives: economic growth and development, environmental sustainability, and access and security of supply.
The EAPI then scores and ranks each country’s current energy architecture based on how well it contributes to these imperatives. All scores are between 0 and 1.
No. 1 Norway, for example, scores .67 in economic growth and development, .63 in environmental sustainability and .95 in energy access and security. The US scores .56, .34 and .77, respectively.
The EAPI shows that no country achieves top scores in all three components of the “energy triangle.”
The report says high GDP correlates with high performing energy systems. All top 10 performers have an average GDP per capita of more than $46,000.
Additionally, the top 10 countries source, on average, 36 percent of their total primary energy supply from renewable or alternative sources, the report says. This includes biomass and nuclear. Sweden, France and Switzerland all source more than 26 percent from nuclear — France sources 42 percent from nuclear — compared to 4 percent for the 2013 sample.
Large-scale hydro power is also more common among the top 10. These countries have an average hydro power energy supply of 9 percent, compared to 5 percent for the rest of the 2013 sample.
Another key finding: countries that score in the top quartile for low energy intensity, diverse energy supply and low emissions rates rank higher in the index. The top 10 have an average energy intensity score of $9.93 GDP per unit of energy use, compared to the sample average of $7.14. Additionally, the top 10 scored an average 0.90/1 for energy diversity and an average of 0.64/1 for environmental sustainability. The EAPI sample average for both of these indicators was .54/1.