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Attribute - Descriptive or performance characteristics of a particular generation resource. The characteristics of renewables and other generating types (both positive and negative) not reflected in the price of power are referred to as externalities and include environmental, economic, and social characteristics. As Detailed Below: |
- Physical Attributes: Physical characteristics such as size, location, fuel type, time of generation, etc. The value of these characteristics tends to be captured in the price of power.
- Environmental Attributes: Environmental attributes include the environmental benefits and costs associated with the construction and operation of specific types of power generation facilities. For renewable facilities, their environmental attributes might include the benefits of such things as emissions offsets or avoidance, as say from wind-generated electricity. Several air pollutants (e.g. CO2, NOx, and SOx) have separate markets today where the value of a pound of pollution is determined through sales and trade. Trading markets for other power plant pollutants, such as mercury and particulates do not exist today but may come into being later.
- Economic Attributes: Economic attributes might include such things as the development of local jobs and businesses, as well as reductions in the costs of having a secure domestic supply of electricity.
- Social Attributes: Examples of social attributes include health and quality of life factors, the introduction of innovative technologies and technology applications, as well as social equity considerations related to the location and siting of power plants.
- The economic and social attributes are not generally quantified in today’s marketplace.
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| Aggregator - An entity that negotiates the purchase of energy in bulk for a group of consumers, and tries to negotiate lower prices. The group of consumers is called a buying group. |
| Amorphous - having an atomic structure that is not periodic. |
| Amorphous Silicon - "Sometimes abbreviated as ""a-Si"", amorphous silicon is used as a disordered semi-conductor material in the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process used to create thin-film solar cells on a stainless-steel substrate" |
| Amps - "The unit of electrical current. Can be thought of as the ""flow rate"" of electricity." |
| Array (photovoltaic) - modules wired together in series or parallel form an array. |
| AC - One of two types of electricity: Alternating Current; found in homes. |
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| Bypass Diode - A diode connected in parallel with a PV cell to provide an alternative current path in case of cell shading or failure. |
| BOS or Balance of System (photovoltaic) - the parts of a photovoltaic system other than the array. For instance: switches, controls, meters, power conditioning equipment, supporting structure for the array, storage components, etc. |
| Blocking Diode - Used to prevent undesired current flow. In a PV array, the diode is used to prevent current flow towards a failed or shaded module (or string of modules) or from the battery to the PV array during periods of darkness or low current production. |
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| Customer Choice - The ability of electricity consumers to compare prices, generation types, and choose the company that supplies their electricity. |
| Charge Monitor/Meter - A device that measures amperage; amp meter. |
| Charge Regulator - " A device that controls the changing rate and/or state of charge for batteries. Wired between a photovoltaic array and a battery bank., its main job is to prevent the battery from being overcharged from the PV array, while monitoring the array and/or battery voltage." |
| Components - Refers to other devices used and needed when building a solar system |
| Competitive Power Supplier - See "Electric Service Provider" |
| Conventional Power - Conventional power is produced from non-renewable fuels such as coal, oil, nuclear and gas, also known as traditional power. |
| Converter - An Electroic Device that changes alternating current (ac) to direct current (dc). |
| Crystalline - having a repeating atomic structure in all three dimensions. |
| Cell (photovoltaic) - the smallest unit of a solar module. |
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| Disordered - minimizing and lifting of lattice constraints, which provides new degrees of freedom, permitting the placement of elements in multi-dimensional spaces where they interact in ways not previously available. This allows the use of multi-elements and complex materials where positional, translational, and compositional disorder remove restrictions so new local order environments can be generated controlling the physical, electronic, and chemical properties of the material, thereby permitting the synthesis of new materials with new mechanisms. |
| Deregulation - The process of changing the laws and regulations that control the electric industry to allow competition of electricity service and retail sales. This results in customer choice of an electricity provider. < i> (see also "Restructuring" |
| DC - "One of two types of Electricity Direct Current; found in anything that uses batteries. Radios, cars laptops, cell phones, etc." |
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| Energy Efficiency - Energy Efficiency occurs when you use less energy to accomplish the same task, for example heating your home or washing clothes. Using less energy means less air pollution and lower costs. To save energy in your home, you can use weather stripping, a water heater blanket or compact fluorescent light bulbs. Also when shopping for household appliances, look for the Energy Star to find appliances that use less energy and lower your electricity costs. |
| Electric Utility - In a regulated electric market, the entity that owns and/or operates facilities for the generation, transmission, and/or distribution of electricity. In a restructured market, this entity becomes an electric distribution company 09 responsible for transmission and distribution only, and provides default electrical service to consumers that elect not to switch to an ESP. |
| Electric Service Provider (ESP) - Also known as competitive power supplier or power marketer, an ESP sells electricity in the retail market. Some suppliers own generation units, while others buy from outside generators and then resell it. In any case, your distribution company (in most cases your local electric utility) delivers the electricity sold by an electric service provider to your home. |
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| Fossil Resources - Electric generation using natural gas, oil, coal, or petroleum coke or other petroleum-based fuels. |
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| Grid-Connected (photovoltaic) - a photovoltaic (PV) system in which the PV array supplies power to the grid. Systems can be operated by the utility or by individual buildings. |
| Global Warming - Global warming is the rise in the earth's temperature resulting from an increase in heat-trapping gases (mainly carbon dioxide and methane) in=2 0the atmosphere. Fossil fuels used in the production of electricity contribute to two-thirds of these gases found in the atmosphere. Please visit hoteart.net for more information. |
Green Power -
This term is synonymous with "eligible renewable electricity product."
Green Tag Verification
Green Tag Verification consists of the Green-e Process Audit and the Green-e Compliance Review. The Process Audit requires retail and wholesale electricity service providers to conduct an annual third-party verification of their power purchases and sales. The Compliance Review is a semiannual review of a company's marketing materials to ensure that the company is abiding by the Green-e Code of Conduct, governing the use of the Green-e logo and customer disclosure requirements. |
| Grid - The grid is a term used to describe the network of wires and cables which transport electricity from a power plant to your home. A picture of electricity sources |
| Generation - Generation is the act of converting various forms of energy into electricity such as oil, gas, sunlight, or wind. Generation is the one part of the electric industry that has been opened to competition in some states. |
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| Inverter - An Electronic Device that changes direct current (dc) to alternating current (ac). |
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| Kilowatt - 1000 watts; a light bulb uses 40-100 watts. |
| Kilowatt-Hour - A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is the standard unit of measure for electricity. One kilowatt-hour is equal to 1,000 watt-hours. The total number of kilowatt-hours charged to your bill is determined by your electricity use. For example, if you used a 100-watt light bulb for 10 hours, you would be billed for one kilowatt-hour (100 watts x 10 hours= 1,000 watt-hours). The average home in the United States uses 750 kwh/ month. |
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| Municipal Utility - A municipal utility is a non-profit utility that is owned and operated by the community it serves. Whether or not a municipal utility is open to customer choice and competition is decided by the municipality's public officials. |
| Megawatt-hour - One thousand (1,000) kilowatt-hours or 1 million (1,000,000) watt-hours. |
| Module (photovoltaic) - cells wired together in series form a module. |
| Megawatt - 1 million (1,000,000) watts or 1,000 kilowatts. The standard measure of electric power plant generating capacity. |
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New Renewable - New renewables are source of renewable energy that are generated from solar electric, wind, biomass and geothermal facilities which have come online since 1997, and in New England since 1998. To view a list of new renewable generation, please visit the Green Power Network.
Green-e detailed definition: An eligible new renewable generation facility must either be: |
- placed in operation (generating electricity) on or after January 1, 1997;
- repowered on or after January 1, 1997 such that at 80% of the fair market value of the project derives from new generation equipment installed as part of the repowering;
- a separable improvement to or enhancement of an operating existing facility that was first placed in operation prior to January 1, 1997,=2 0such that the proposed incremental generation is contractually available for sale and metered separately than existing generation at the facility; or
- a separately metered landfill gas resource that was not being used to generate electricity prior to January 1, 1997.
- Any enhancement of fuel source that increases generation at an existing facility, without the construction of a new or repowered, separately metered generating unit, is not eligible to participate, with the exception of new landfill gas resources identified above.
- An eligible "new renewable generation facility" must meet the eligibility guidelines for "renewable resources" described in the Green-e Code of Conduct.
- Hydroelectric facilities may not contribute toward achievement of the standard for "new" renewables at this time.
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| Ovonic - [after S.R. Ov(shinsky) + (electr)onic] - the term used to describe our proprietary materials, products, and technologies. |
| Ovshinsky effect -
The effect by which a specific glassy thin film switches from a nonconductor to a semiconductor upon application of a minimum voltage. |
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| Power Marketer - An electricity service provider - an electric company. |
| Peak Power - the maximum amount of energy available for a sustained period of time, typically 10 to 30 seconds. |
| Photovoltaic (PV) - direct conversion of light into electrical energy. |
| Photovoltaic Cell - The treated semi-conductor material that converts solar irradiance to electricity. |
| Power Content Label - Much like a nutrition label, the power content label (also known as a resource disclosure label), shows an electricity service provider's generation type in a standardized format. The label may also include prices, terms of contracts with customers, air emissions and labor practices. Some states require standard disclosure labels. |
| Parallel Connection - "Connection in which the voltage stays the same, but the amperage multiplies." |
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| Roll-to-Roll Process - a process where a roll of substrate is continuously converted into a roll of product. |
| Resource Disclosure Label - Much like a nutrition label, the Resource Disclosure Label (also known as a Power Content Label), shows an electricity service provider's generation type in a standardized format. The label may also include prices, terms of contracts with customers, air emissions and labor practices. Some states require standard disclosure labels. |
| Restructuring (electric) - Restructuring is a term used to describe a sequence of events whereby a monopoly electricity territory controlled by a single utility is opened up to competition. Usually this occurs in the retail electricity sales and electricity generation areas. |
| Renewable Resources - 0A Sources of electricity, such as solar electric, wind, geothermal, biomass and hydroelectric. A resource is called renewable if it can be naturally replenished. In general, renewables have lower environmental impacts than non-renewables. |
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System Power -
The mix of electricity fuel sources consumed in the state or region that are not disclosed or marketed as specific purchases or as defined by relevant state agency.
Tradable Renewable Certificates (TRC)
A generic term for a bundle of attributes except the actual electrical energy associated with the generation of electricity at a renewable energy facility. Depending upon the facility, the TRC will embody various attributes with varying quantitative values (see 'Attribute,' above). Values – such as avoided emissions – are quantified according to some baseline metric, engineering estimate, or a value deemed by private or government bodies. A renewable ‘tag’ and a REC are the equivalent of a TRC. |
| Service Area or Service Territory (electricity) - The geographical territory served by an electric service provider. |
| Solar - Energy from the sun. |
| Solar Collectors - A device designed to capture light or heat energy from the sun. Solar thermal collectors are used in solar hot water systems (often found in homes) and photovoltaic collectors are used in solar electric systems |
| Solar Heating - Technologies or systems that take advantage of the heat energy coming from the sun. Solar thermal collectors are used in solar hot water systems (often found in homes) and photovoltaic collectors are used in solar electric systems. |
| Solar Module or Solar Panel - A collection of solar cells interconnected to form a solar panel or module. |
| Stabilized Energy Conversion Efficiency - the long-term ratio of electrical output to light input. |
| Systems; Balance of Systems - "Solar electric systems include the photovoltaic array and the other components that allow these solar panels to be used in homes and commercial facilities where a regulated DC power supply or an AC power supply is required. Components used in solar electric systems include; wire and disconnect devices, charge regulators, inverters, metering, and grounding components." |
| Series Connection - Connection in which the current (amps) stays the same but the voltage multiplies. |
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| Transmission (electricity) - The towers and high voltage lines that transport energy from power plants to the distribution company. |
| Thin-Film - a very thin layer of material formed on a substrate. |
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| Voltage Meter - A device that measures voltage. |
| Voltage - The measurement of the force of electricity. |
| Volts - The unit of electromotive force that will force a current of one amp through a resistor or one ohm. |
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| Watts - A measure of electrical power that is determined by multiplying the voltage by the amperage. |
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