Energy and exergy utilization assessment of the Greek transport sector

Transport is of fundamental importance to human society, providing mobility and facilitating industry and trade. Nevertheless there are also many environmental impacts; thus it is crucial that transportation planning is carried out in a sustainable manner meeting optimum travel needs, promote economic prosperity and environmental preservation. In assessing the efficiency of transportation, exergy analysis is an effective tool. This work presents an energy and exergy utilization assessment for the transportation sector of Greece taking into account the sectoral energy and exergy flows for the period over 1980–2003. Energy and exergy analyses are conducted for the four subsectors of the Greek transport sector, namely highways, railways, marine and civil aviation. The road subsector appears to be the most efficient in comparison to the other subsectors for the years between 1980 and 2003. It is believed that the exergy analysis presented here provides insights into the transport energy use and could assist in the planning of an efficient transport system.