The present paper is devoted to the evaluation of energy detection based spectrum sensing over different multipath fading and shadowing conditions. This is realized by means of a unified and versatile approach that is based on the particularly flexible mixture gamma distribution. To this end, novel analytic expressions are firstly derived for the probability of detection over MG fading channels for the conventional single-channel communication scenario. These expressions are subsequently employed in deriving closed-form expressions for the case of square-law combining and square-law selection diversity methods. The validity of the offered expressions is verified through comparisons with results from respective computer simulations. Furthermore, they are employed in analyzing the performance of energy detection over multipath fading, shadowing and composite fading conditions, which provides useful insighs on the performance and design of future cognitive radio based communication systems.