Wind Energy Glossary
Glossary Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Deregulation | As it pertains to the electricity industry, deregulation is the process of opening up electricity markets to competition between power producers with the notion that competition will help lower electricity rates for consumers. |
| Discount Rate | 1) The interest rate that an eligible depository institution is charged to borrow short-term funds directly from a Federal Reserve Bank. 2) The ineterest rate used in determining the present value of future cash flows. |
| Distributed Generation | A small-scale power generation technology that provides electric power at a site closer to customers than the central station generation. The term is commonly used to indicate non-utility sources of electricity, including facilities for self-generation. |
| Distribution Cooperative | An electric cooperative that purchases wholesale power and delivers it to consumer members. |
| Distribution System | The poles, wires, transformers, breakers, fuses, and other associated equipment, used to deliver electric energy from a bulk power supplier to the consumer. Typically, the distribution system is defined as power lines and associated equipment where the operating voltage is less than 69 kilovolts. |
| Dual Line Feed | A dual line is a second, redundant transmission line connecting a turbine to the grid that allows your project to generate power even if the first line is taken out of service. |
| Due Diligence | Do your homework! Due diligence means that you have looked at a particular investment from as many angles as possible to best understand the risks, rewards, and opportunity costs. Lenders, investors, contractors, and equipment suppliers will be much more willing to work with you if you can demonstrate that you know the lingo and understand the industry. |
| Easement | The right to use the real property of someone else for a specific purpose. |
| Electric Cooperative | A form of utility in which all users own shares. Electric cooperatives are common in rural areas that are expensive to serve because of long distances between users. Frequently, the government contributes in various ways to rural cooperatives to reduce costs to individual owners/users. |
| Energy Policy Act of 1992 (NEPA) | A federal statute that, among other things, established additional forms of non-utility generators. It also permitted non-generator-owning municipalities to purchase wholesale electricity, thus opening the door to municipalization, which allows municipal governments to take control over providing electric service to electric consumers. |
| Energy Policy Act of 2005 | The first time since 1992 that the federal government revisited national energy policy. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 included an extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) through the end of 007, the creation of Clean Renewable Energy Bonds, and many other provisions. |
| Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) | A thorough study of each proposed electric utility project with potential for significant environmental impacts. Includes evaluation of alternatives and impact mititgation. |
| Environmental Quality Board | A state agency that adopts environmental rules, monitors their effectiveness, and revises them as appropriate; provides technical assistance to interpret and apply rules. (This varies from state to state). |
| Escrow | A financial instrument held by a third party on behalf of two other parties in a transaction, The funds are held by the escrow service until the service receives the appropriate written or oral instructions or until obligations have been fulfilled by participating parties. Securities, funds, and other assets can be held in escrow. |
| Farm Bill, Energy Title, Section 9006 | For the first time in U.S agriculture policy, the 2002 Farm Bill included an energy title that established a variety of programs to support farm-based renewable energy grant and loan guarantee program administered through the U.S Department of Agriculture - Rural Development. |
| Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) | An independent regulatory agency within the U.S Department of Energy that has jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales, wholesale electricity rates, natural gas and oil pipeline rates, and gas pipeline certification. It also licenses and inspects private, municipal, and state hydroelectric projects and oversees related environmental matters. |
| Flip Models/Flip Dynamics | One example of a business model structure which brings in a tax-motivated equity partner to effectively own the project during the period when the PTC and accelerated depreciation are available (i.e., the first 10 years of the project's life). |
| Generation and Transmission Cooperative (G&T) | A power supply cooperative owned by a group of distribution cooperatives. G&Ts generate power or purchase it from public or investor-owned utilities, or from both. |
| Geographic Information System (GIS) | A system for capturing, storing, analyzing, and managing data and associated attributes which are spatially referenced to the earth. |
| Green Energy | The process of selling the "green" or environmental attributes of a product. |
| Green marketing | The process of selling the "green" or environmental attributes of a product. |
| Grid | A network of power lines or pipelines used to move energy from its source to consumers. |
| Hertz (Hz) | A standard unit of measurement: its units are 1/seconds. Typically used in the electricity industry to describe how many times an electrical signal repeats itself over the course of one second. Example: The electricity in the United States has a frequency of 60 Hz. This means that the signal of the U.S Electric System repeats itself 60 times per second. |
| Hub Height | The height of the tower where a wind energy conversion system is mounted measuring from the ground. |
| Independent Power Producer (IPP) | An electricity generator that sells power but is not owned by a utility. |