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Acidification
A process whereby air pollution-mainly ammonia, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides-is converted into acid substances.
Acid Rain
Precipitation containing harmful amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids formed primarily by sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned. It can be wet precipitation (rain, snow, or fog) or dry precipitation (absorbed gaseous and particulate matter, aerosol particles or dust). Acid rain has a pH below 5.6. Normal rain has a pH of about 5.6, which is slightly acidic.
Airshed
An area or region defined by geology or settlement patterns that result in discrete atmospheric conditions.
Alternative Fuel Vehicle
A vehicle that operates on fuels other than gasoline and diesel.
Anthropogenic
Made or generated by a human or caused by human activity.
Ash
Impurities consisting of silica, iron, alumina, and other noncombustible matter that are contained in coal. Ash increases the weight of coal, adds to the cost of handling, and can affect its burning characteristics.
Atmospheric Deposition
The contribution of atmospheric pollutants or chemical constituents to land or water ecosystems, resulting from materials in rain or snowfall and combined with dry dust fallout.
Base Load Plant
A base load power plant (or base load power station) is one that provides a steady flow of power regardless of total power demand by the grid. These plants run at all times through the year except in the case of repairs or scheduled maintenance. Power plants are designated base load based on their low cost generation, efficiency and safety at set outputs. Baseload power plants do not change production to match power consumption demands since it is always cheaper to run them rather than running higher cost combined cycle plants or combustion turbines.
Biodiesel
An alternative fuel that can be made from any fat or vegetable oil. It can be used in any diesel engine with few or no modifications. Although biodiesel does not contain petroleum, it can be blended with diesel at any level or used in its pure form.
Biofuels
Liquid fuels and blending components produced from biomass (plant) feedstocks, used primarily for transportation.
Biomass
Organic non-fossil material of biological origin constituting a renewable energy source.
British Thermal Unit (Btu)
A British Thermal Unit equals the amount of energy needed to raise a pound of water one degree Fahrenheit at constant pressure of one atmosphere.
Cap-and-Trade Program
A pollution control program that caps total emissions of certain pollutants, and allows emitters to trade available allowances on an open market as part of compliance activity Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an approach to mitigating global warming based on capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from large point sources such as fossil fuel power plants and permanently storing it away from the atmosphere.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
A colorless, odorless, non-poisonous gas that is a normal part of Earth's atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a product of fossil-fuel combustion as well as other processes. It is considered a greenhouse gas as it traps heat (infrared energy) radiated by the Earth into the atmosphere and thereby contributes to the potential for global warming. The global warming potential (GWP) of other greenhouse gases is measured in relation to that of carbon dioxide, which by international scientific convention is assigned a value of one (1).
Carbon Sequestration
The biological or physical process of capturing CO2 emissions, which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere, and permanently storing them in geologic formations, including oil and gas reservoirs, unmined coal seams, saline reservoirs or oceans.
Climate Change
A term used to refer to all forms of climatic inconsistency, but especially to significant change from one prevailing climatic condition to another. In some cases, "climate change" has been used synonymously with the term "global warming"; scientists, however, tend to use the term in a wider sense inclusive of natural changes in climate, including climatic cooling.
Closed Carbon Cycle
The process in which CO2, released into the atmosphere from the burning of biodiesel, is absorbed by lower plants which are later processed into food.
Coal-Fired Power Plant
A power plant that uses coal as the fuel to generate electricity.
Cofiring
The process of burning natural gas in conjunction with another fuel to reduce air pollutants.
Cogeneration
The production of electrical energy and another form of useful energy (such as heat of steam) through the sequential use of energy.
Combined Heat and Power
A technology designed to produce both heat (and/or cooling) and electricity from a single heat source.
Consumptive Use
The difference between the amount of water that is withdrawn by an industrial user (such as electricity generating unit) and the amount discharged back to the stream that becomes available for use downstream.
Decoupling
A rate mechanism that separates revenue from sales.
Demand-Side Management
The planning, implementation and monitoring of utility programs and pricing designed to encourage consumers to reduce electricity consumption or to modify patterns of electricity usage, including the timing and level of electricity demand.
Diesel Engine
Diesel engines are internal combustion engines that burn diesel oil rather than gasoline.
Diesel Fuel
A fuel composed of distillates obtained in petroleum refining operation or blends of such distillates with residual oil used in motor vehicles. The boiling point and specific gravity are higher for diesel fuels than for gasoline.
Distillate Fuel
A general classification for a petroleum fraction produced in conventional distillation operations, which includes diesel fuels and fuel oils.
Distributed Generation
Electricity production by small generators typically located onsite at the point of consumption as opposed to large central power plant generation.
DOE
U.S. Department of Energy.
EIA
The Energy Information Administration. An independent agency within the U.S. Department of Energy that develops surveys, collects energy data, and analyzes and models energy issues. The Agency must meet the requests of Congress, other elements within the Department of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Executive Branch, its own independent needs, and assist the general public, or other interest groups, without taking a policy position.
Electricity
A form of energy characterized by the presence and motion of elementary charged particles generated by friction, induction, or chemical change.
Electricity Fuels
A category of fuels tracked by the Energy Information Administration. These fuels are used almost exclusively to generate electricity, including nuclear power, hydropower, wood and wood waste.
Emission
A discharge or something that is given off; generally used in regard to discharges into the air. Or, releases of gases to the atmosphere from some type of human activity (cooking, driving a car, etc). In the context of global climate change, they consist of greenhouse gases (e.g., the release of carbon dioxide during fuel combustion).
Energy Efficiency Measures
Activities designed to reduce electricity loads by improving end-use equipment and systems to get the same service (i.e., lighting, heating, cooling, etc) while using less energy input.
Enhanced Oil Recovery
Enhanced Oil Recovery is the recovery of oil from a reservoir using means other than using the natural reservoir pressure. Enhanced Oil Recovery generally results in increased amounts of oil being removed from a reservoir in comparison to methods using natural pressure or pumping alone.
Ethanol
A clear, colorless, flammable oxygenated hydrocarbon produced chemically or biologically that can be used for gasoline blending or as a gasoline octane enhancer.
FERC
Federal Energy Regulatory Agency. The Federal government agency that regulates and oversees energy industries in the economic, environmental, and safety interests of the American public.
Fission
The splitting apart of atoms. This splitting releases large amounts of energy and one or more neutrons. Nuclear power plants split the nuclei of uranium atoms in a process called fission.
Fossil Fuels
Fuels (coal, oil, natural gas, etc.) that result from the compression of ancient plant and animal life formed over millions of years.
Fusion
When the nuclei of atoms are combined or "fused" together. The sun combines the nuclei of hydrogen atoms into helium atoms in a process called fusion. Energy from the nuclei of atoms, called "nuclear energy" is released from fusion.
Gas Condensate
Hydrocarbon liquid dissolved in saturated natural gas that comes out of solution when the pressure drops below the dew point.
Generating Capacity
The amount of electrical power a power plant can produce.
Geothermal Energy
There are two typical technologies for converting geothermal energy into useful energy. In areas where there is volcanic activity, technology can produce steam from geothermal reservoirs in the earth's crust to be used for electricity production. In geothermal heating and cooling applications, geothermal heat pumps take advantage of the near-constant temperature of the earth by circulating fluid though buried piping to be used for pre-heating (in winter) and pre-cooling (in summer) air used for space heating and cooling, thereby reducing the need to use other forms of energy.
Global Warming
An increase in the near surface temperature of the Earth. Global warming has occurred in the distant past as the result of natural influences, but the term is today most often used to refer to the warming some scientists predict will occur as a result of increased anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases.
Green Oil
Crude oil production from CO2 EOR that is associated with and the storage of carbon dioxide, giving this oil a lower carbon footprint than conventional oil.
Greenhouse Gases
Gases that trap the heat of the sun in the Earth's atmosphere, producing the greenhouse effect. The two major greenhouse gases are water vapor and carbon dioxide. Lesser greenhouse gases include methane, ozone, chlorofluorocarbons, and nitrogen oxides.
Green Pricing
In the case of renewable electricity, green pricing represents a market solution to the various problems associated with regulatory valuation of the nonmarket benefits of renewables. Green pricing programs allow electricity customers to express their willingness to pay for renewable energy development through direct payments on their monthly utility bills.
Grid
The layout of an electrical distribution system.
GTL
Gas To Liquids. A process that combines the carbon and hydrogen elements in natural gas molecules to make synthetic liquid petroleum products, such as diesel fuel.
Heat Content
The amount of heat energy available to be released by the transformation or use of a specified physical unit of an energy form (e.g., a ton of coal, barrel of oil, kilowatt hour of electricity, cubic foot of natural gas, or pound of steam). Heat content is typically described in British Thermal Units (see definition above) per unit of fuel.
Hydrogen
The lightest of all gases, occurring chiefly in combination with oxygen in water.
Hydropower
Energy that comes from moving water.
IGCC
Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Technology. A process that produces electricity in the following sequence: coal, water, and oxygen are fed to gasifier; the resulting gas is cleaned and fed to a gas turbine; the hot exhaust and the heat recovered from the gasification process are routed through a heat-recovery boiler to produce steam, which drives a steam turbine to produce electricity.
Intake Temperature
The natural or background temperature of water in a particular water body unaffected by any man-made discharge or thermal input.
Integrated Resource Plan
A method for looking ahead using environmental, engineering, social, financial and economic considerations; includes using the same criteria to evaluate both supply and demand options while involving customers and other stakeholders in the process.
Kilowatthour (KWH)
A measure of electricity defined as a unit of work or energy, measured as 1 kilowatt (1,000 watts) of power expended for 1 hour. One kWh is equivalent to 3,412 Btu or 3.6 million joules.
Levelized Cost of Electricity
This term, a construct frequently used in analyzing investment in electricity generation, is the minimum price of electricity at which a technology generates enough revenue to pay all of the utilities' costs, including a sufficient return to investors.
Line Loss
Electric energy lost because of the transmission of electricity.
LNG
Liquefied Natural Gas. Natural gas cooled to roughly -2600F at normal air pressure, at which point the gas converts to a liquid state roughly 1/600 the volume of the gas at normal atmospheric temperatures.
Load
The power and energy requirements of users on the electric power system in a certain area or the amount of power delivered to a certain point.
LPG
Liquefied Petroleum Gas. A group of hydrocarbon-based gases derived from crude oil refining or natural gas fractionation. They include ethane, ethylene, propane, propylene, normal butane, butylene, isobutane, and isobutylene. For convenience of transportation, these gases are liquefied through pressurization.
Megawatt
A unit of electrical power equal to 1000 kilowatts or one million watts.
Methane
A colorless, flammable, odorless hydrocarbon gas (CH4) which is the major component of natural gas. It is also an important source of hydrogen in various industrial processes. Methane is a greenhouse gas.
MSW
Municipal Solid Waste. Residential solid waste and some nonhazardous commercial, institutional, and industrial wastes.
NARUC
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. An affiliation of the public service commissioners to promote the uniform treatment of members of the railroad, public utilities, and public service commissions of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territory of the Virgin Islands.
NETL
National Energy Technology Laboratory. Part of DOE's national laboratory system which supports DOE's mission to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States. NETL implements a broad spectrum of energy and environmental research and development (R&D) programs.
Natural Gas
An odorless, colorless, tasteless, non-toxic clean-burning fossil fuel. It is usually found in fossil fuel deposits and used as a fuel.
Natural Gas Hydrates
Solid, crystalline, wax-like substances composed of water, methane, and usually a small amount of other gases, with the gases being trapped in the interstices of a water-ice lattice. They form beneath permafrost and on the ocean floor under conditions of moderately high pressure and at temperatures near the freezing point of water.
NERC
North American Electric Reliability Council. A council formed in 1968 by the electric utility industry to promote the reliability and adequacy of bulk power supply in the electric utility systems of North America. NERC consists of regional reliability councils and encompasses essentially all the power regions of the contiguous United States, Canada, and Mexico.
NGL
Natural Gas Liquids. Substances that can be processed as liquids out of natural gas by absorption or condensation.
Non-Biogenic Waste
Waste made from fossil materials or materials of non-biological origin, such as plastics, and tire-derived fuels.
Nuclear Energy
Energy that comes from splitting atoms of radioactive materials, such as uranium.
Offshore Reserves and Production
Unless otherwise dedicated, energy source reserves and production that are in either state or Federal domains, located seaward of the coastline.
OPEC
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries organized for the purpose of negotiating with oil companies on matters of oil production, prices, and future concession rights. Current members (as of the date of writing this definition) are Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
Peak Load Plant
A plant usually housing old, low-efficiency steam units, gas turbines, diesels, or pumped-storage hydroelectric equipment normally used during the peak-load periods.
Petrochemicals
Organic and inorganic petroleum compounds and mixtures that include but are not limited to organic chemicals, cyclic intermediates, plastics and resins, synthetic fibers, elastomers, organic dyes, organic pigments, detergents, surface active agents, carbon black, and ammonia.
Petroleum
Generally refers to crude oil or the refined products obtained from the processing of crude oil (gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, etc.) Petroleum also includes lease condensate, unfinished oils, and natural gas plant liquids.
Photovoltaic Cells
A device, usually made from silicon, which converts some of the energy from light (radiant energy) into electrical energy. Another name for a solar cell.
Photovoltaic Conversion
The process by which radiant (light) energy is changed into electrical energy.
Power Degradation
The loss of power when electricity is sent over long distance transmission lines.
Power-Generating Efficiency
The percentage of the total energy content of a power plant's fuel which is converted into electric energy. The remaining energy is lost to the environment as heat.
PSC
Public Service Commission. See below.
Public Service Commission or Public Utility Commission
is a governing body that regulates the rates and services of a utility or other entities.
PURPA
Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act. A law passed by Congress in 1978 to promote more efficient use of fossil fuels and greater use of renewable energy for generating electricity. A renewable or cogeneration facility that qualifies for PURPA benefits is called a Qualifying Facility (QF). Utility companies buy the electricity from QFs at the "avoided cost." This is the cost it would take for the utility company to generate the amount of electricity the QF produces.
Radiant Energy
Any form of energy radiating from a source in waves.
Radioactive Waste
Materials left over from making nuclear energy. Radioactive waste can harm people and the environment if it is not stored safely.
Radioactivity
The property possessed by some elements, such as uranium, of giving off alpha, beta, or gamma rays.
Reactor Core
Part of a nuclear power station - the structure inside which fission occurs in millions of atomic nuclei, producing huge amounts of heat energy.
Refinery
An industrial plant that heats crude oil (petroleum) so that is separates into chemical components, which are then made into more useful substances.
Refined Petroleum Products
Refined petroleum products include but are not limited to gasoline, kerosene, distillates (including No. 2 fuel oil), liquefied petroleum gas, asphalt, lubricating oils, diesel fuels, and residual fuels.
Renewable Energy Sources
Fuels that can be easily made or "renewed." We can never use up renewable fuels. Types of renewable fuels are hydropower (water), solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass.
Renewable Energy Resources
Energy resources that derive from existing flows of energy, from on-going natural processes, such as sunshine, wind, flowing water (hydropower, wave action & tidal flows), biological processes, and geothermal heat flows. Renewable energy resources are replaced rapidly by a natural process such as power generated from the sun or from the wind.
Semiconductor
Any material that has a limited capacity for conducting an electric current. Semiconductors are crystalline solids, such as silicon, that have an electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator.
SERC
Southern Emergency Response Council. A formalized emergency response agreement
among the southern region to respond in case of a radiological incident. SERC representation is comprised of the 14 signatory states of the Southern Agreement for Mutual State Radiological Assistance, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
Silvicultural
The agriculture of trees, including how to grow them, maximize growth and return, and manipulate species compositions to meet landowner objectives.
Smart Grid
Smart grid combines traditional power hardware with sensing and monitoring technology, information technology, and communications to enhance electrical grid performance and support additional services to consumers.
Solar Cell
An electric cell which changes radiant energy from the sun into electrical energy by the photovoltaic process.
Solar Power Tower
The conceptual method of producing electrical energy from solar rays. It involved the focusing of a large number of solar rays on a single source (boiler), usually located on an elevated tower, to produce high temperatures. A fluid located in or passed through the source changes into steam and used in a turbine generator to produce electrical energy.
Solar Insolation
The amount of electromagnetic energy (solar radiation) incident on the surface of the earth. Basically that means how much sunlight is shining down on us.
Solar Power
The radiant energy of the sun, which can be converted into other forms of energy, such as heat or electricity.
Spent Fuel
Irradiated fuel that is permanently discharged from a nuclear reactor. Except for possible reprocessing, this fuel must eventually be removed from its temporary storage location at the reactor site and placed in a permanent repository. Spent fuel is typically measured either in metric tons of heavy metal (i.e., only the heavy metal content of the spent fuel is considered) or in metric tons of initial heavy metal (essentially, the initial mass of the fuel before irradiation). The difference between these two quantities is the weight of the fission products.
Stack Emissions
The particulate matter and vapors released to the atmosphere through a stack, chimney, or flue.
State Implementation Plan
An enforceable plan developed at the state level that explains how the state will comply with air quality standards according to the federal Clean Air Act.
Stationary Source
A place or object from which pollutants are released and that does not move around, including power plants, incinerators and other emitting industries.
Surface Mine
A coal-producing mine that is usually within a few hundred feet of the surface. Earth above or around the coal (overburden) is removed to expose the coal bed, which is then mined with surface excavation equipment, such as draglines, power shovels, bulldozers, loaders, and augers. It may also be known as an area, contour, open-pit, strip, or auger mine.
Thermal Energy
The total potential and kinetic energy associated with the random motions of the molecules of a material.
Total Maximum Daily Load
A calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards, and an allocation of that amount to the pollutant's sources.
Transformer
A device which converts the generator's low-voltage electricity to higher-voltage levels for transmission to the load center, such as a city or factory.
Transmission (Electric)
The movement or transfer of electric energy over an interconnected group of lines and associated equipment between points of supply and points at which it is transformed for delivery to consumers or is delivered to other electric systems. Transmission is considered to end when the energy is transformed for distribution to the consumer.
Transmission Line
A set of conductors, insulators, supporting structures, and associated equipment used to move large quantities of power at high voltage, usually over long distances between a generating or receiving point and major substations or delivery points.
Uranium
A heavy, naturally-occurring, radioactive element.
Uranium Fuel Cycle
The series of steps involved in supplying fuel for nuclear power reactors. It includes mining, refining, the making of fuel elements, their use in a reactor, chemical processing to recover spent (used) fuel, re-enrichment of the fuel material, and remaking into new fuel elements.
Utility Generation
Generation by electric systems engaged in selling electric energy to the public.
Vehicle Fuel Consumption
Vehicle fuel consumption is computed as the vehicle miles traveled divided by the fuel efficiency reported in miles per gallon (MPG). Vehicle fuel consumption is derived from the actual vehicle mileage collected and the assigned MPGs obtained from EPA certification files adjusted for on-road driving. The quantity of fuel used by vehicles.
Voltage
The difference in electrical potential between any two conductors or between a conductor and ground. It is a measure of the electric energy per electron that electrons can acquire and/or give up as they move between the two conductors.
Waste Energy
Municipal solid waste, landfill gas, methane, digester gas, liquid acetonitrile waste, tall oil, waste alcohol, medical waste, paper pellets, sludge waste, solid byproducts, tires, agricultural byproducts, closed loop biomass, fish oil, and straw used as fuel.
Well
A hole drilled in the earth for the purpose of (1) finding or producing crude oil or natural gas; or (2) producing services related to the production of crude or natural gas.
Wellhead
The point at which the crude (and/or natural gas) exits the ground.
Wind Energy
Kinetic energy present in wind motion that can be converted to mechanical energy for driving pumps, mills, and electric power generators.
Yellowcake
A natural uranium concentrate that takes its name from its color and texture. Yellowcake typically contains 70 to 90 percent U3O8 (uranium oxide) by weight. It is used as feedstock for uranium fuel enrichment and fuel pellet fabrication.
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