ENERGY INDUSTRY

The energy industry is a generic term for all of the industries involved the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing fuel and refining, and fuel distribution. Modern society consumes large amounts fuel, and the energy industry is a crucial part of the infrastructure and maintenance of society in almost all countries.

In particular, the energy industry comprises:

• the petroleum industry, include oil companies, petroleum refiners, fuel transport and end-user sales at gas stations
• the gas industry, including natural gas extraction, and coal gas manufacture, as well as distribution and sales
• the electrical power industry, including electricity generation, electric power distribution and sales
• the coal industry
• the nuclear power industry
• alternative energy and sustainable energy companies, including those involved in hydroelectric power, wind power, and solar power generation, and the manufacture, distribution and sale of alternative fuels.
• traditional energy industry based on the collection and distribution of firewood, the use of which, for cookng and heating, is particularly common in poorer countries

Environmental impact

Because of government encouragement in the form of subsidies and tax incentives, energy conservation efforts are also being increasingly viewed as a major function of the energy industry, as saving an amount of energy has almost identical economic benefits to generating that same amount of energy. The energy industry generates a large amount of pollution, including the generation of toxic gases and greenhouse gases from fuel combustion, nuclear waste from nuclear power generation, and oil spillages in the petroleum industry. Because of government regulation, pollution regulation efforts form an increasing part of the energy industry, and the trading of carbon credits and pollution credits on the free market may also result in energy saving and pollution control measures becoming even more important to energy companies.

See also

• Hydrogen economy