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ESF > ESF definitions > Flashcards

ESF definitions Flashcards

1
Q

Cost

A

What is required to produce something, usually denominated in financial terms (e.g. $/kWh). Differentiated from price: cost is experienced by the producer of the good.

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2
Q

Price

A

Price paid for the good, received by the supplier. Price = Cost + Margin = Value – Surplus. Usually denominated in dollar terms. Determined by market forces at the intersection of instantaneous supply and demand. In the long term profits should approximately be equal to the return on capital to equilibriate supply and demand. In the short term determined by local supply and demand and bounded by marginal cost (shutdown decision).

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3
Q

Fungible Good

A

Goods which are interchangeable. Requires, for energy, that the four conditions of WHAT, WHERE, WHEN and HOW CERTAIN are equivalent for comparison goods. “Iron laws”: defining precise value or volume metrics requires knowing all of those factors, goods are not comparable if they’re not fungible, so, prices, value and costs are not comparable unless the underlying goods are fungible.

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4
Q

Lifecycle analysis (LCA):

A

Analysis to assess all of the total costs associated with energy supply (including, for instance, resource extraction, fuel processing, manufacturing, construction, operation, maintenance, waste management, decommissioning). Does NOT include external costs (e.g. climate impact, unless specifically noted).

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5
Q

Value added

A

Amount of net profit generated from the production of energy related activities throughout the supply chain

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6
Q

Value at risk

A

Amount of income and asset value exposed to changes in energy prices in a firm or economy

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7
Q

Dependence

A

Percent of national energy balance that comes from or is sold outside the energy orders.

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8
Q

Natural capital

A

Stock of natural ecosystems that yield a flow of ecosystem goods or services into the future.

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9
Q

Primary energy

A

Energy at the start of the system, extracted from natural resources. Undergoes transformation (and transportation) before it is consumed. Key primary energy sources: oil, coal, natural gas, uranium, hydro-potential power

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10
Q

Primary energy production

A

The total energy extracted from stocks for use in the energy system.

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11
Q

Secondary energy carriers

A

Move energy in a useful form from one place to another (e.g. electricity, hydrogen)

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12
Q

Total final consumption

A

Energy consumed for use by end users (note, is not all converted to useful use: for instance only a portion of the energy consumed in a car is translated to movement, much is lost as heat and noise).

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13
Q

Non-linearities

A

Abrupt and large, rather than incremental changes in the energy system. E.g. depletion of natural resources, or sudden climate changes.

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14
Q

Systems

A

Consist of stocks, flows and feedback loops. In physical, exponentially growing systems there must be at least one reinforcing loop driving the growth, and at least one balancing loop constraining the growth, because no physical system can grow forever.

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15
Q

Stocks

A

Foundation of any system, you can see, feel, count or measure at any given time. Can change over time through the actions of a flow (first derivative of a stock over time). Change slowly because flows take time to flow.

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16
Q

Flows

A

Are the changes in a stock over time. Denominated in units over time.

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17
Q

Feedback loops

A

Are the communication mechanism between stocks and flows.

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18
Q

Feedback loops – stabilising

A

Otherwise known as goal seeking. Keep a system in balance and consistent over time. (e.g. action of a thermostat increasing or decreasing hot air added to a room to target a specific temperature)

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19
Q

Feedback loops – Reinforcing

A

Otherwise known as runaway. Move a system away from equilibrium, create changes in levels. Changes accumulate rather than compensate for each other. (e.g. cancerous cell growth- need better example here)

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20
Q

System purpose

A

: What the system is set out to do. Need not be based on human purposes and not necessarily intended by any single actor within a system.

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21
Q

Reference scenario

A

Base-case scenario used to understand how different assumptions might influence future outcomes. (e.g. IEA produces a reference scenario for world primary energy demand based on linear extrapolation)

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22
Q

Dose-response curve

A

Relationship between response and dose. Many climate effects are non-linear: i.e. little response to increased carbon at first but then significant changes (e.g. rapid cleaving of ice sheets on land, thermohaline circulation collapse, methane emission from permafrost soils)

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23
Q

Market failure

A

Failure of the market to provide a quantity that would be predicted by the intersection of marginal cost and marginal demand. (e.g. many energy efficiency interventions come at negative cost, so should be immediately realised, but are not).

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24
Q

Myopia

A

“Short-sightedness”, or understood as the application of (perhaps irrationally) high discount rates. Preference for immediate value rather than value in the future. A common cause of market failures in the energy system. (e.g. rooftop solar has high returns, but takeup doesn’t reflect this, due to upfront costs and myopia).

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25
Q

Energy

A

can be transformed (converted) among a number of forms that may each manifest and be measurable in differing ways. The law of conservation of energy states that the (total) energy of a system can increase or decrease only by transferring it in or out of the system.

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26
Q

Energy services

A

Can be understood as the “what, where, when and how certain” of energy delivery

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27
Q

Systems thinking

A

Is a way of thinking about, and a language for describing and understanding the forces and relationships that shape the behavior of systems.

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28
Q

Root cause

A

The underlying reason that something happens

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29
Q

Constraint

A

A limit within a system - a stopping point

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30
Q

Innovation

A

Improvement in the use of resources, driven by entrepreneurship, profit-motive, invention, necessity, efficiency and opportunity.

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31
Q

Depletion

A

Reduction over time in the resources available of something, driven by absorbtion, peak production, constraints, selfishness, market failures and trade-offs.

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32
Q

Power

A

Rate of FLOW in a system. Denominated in energy over a unit of time (e.g. MW, Joules/Second)

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33
Q

First law of thermodynamics

A

Is the low of conservation of energy. Energy cannot be either created or destroyed. Ins and outs must be the same in the end within an energy system.

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34
Q

Second law of thermodynamics

A

Entropy increases (randomness, disorder). Energy flows from hot to cold. Losses accumulate.

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35
Q

Energy productivity

A

Amount of energy required to achieve a certain amount of production. Usually denominated with energy as the denominator (i.e. GDP/MJ, miles/kWh)

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36
Q

Value metric

A

Denominations of value - things that can be created with energy. (e.g. Dollars, Cents, Mills)

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37
Q

Value

A

Usefulness of something created. Denominated in value metrics.

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38
Q

Sustainability

A

the capacity to endure for a sustained period of time

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39
Q

Leverage Point

A

the places to intervene in a system

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40
Q

Social Cost of Carbon

A

figure used to estimate climate change damages brought on by carbon emissions

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41
Q

Externality

A

a side effect or consequence of an industrial or commercial activity that affects other parties without this being reflected in the cost of the goods or services involved

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42
Q

Unitended Consequences

A

outcomes that are not the ones intended by a purposeful action.

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43
Q

Uncertainty

A

outcomes will occur with a probability that cannot even be estimated, the decisionmaker faces uncertainty.

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44
Q

Peak load

A

Demand level of electricity that occurs only at peaks throughout the day (i.e. for airconditioning or heating)

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45
Q

Intermediate Load

A

Intermediate load falls between peak load and base load; intermediate load power plants operate between the extremes of peak and base, curtailing production at night and other times of low demand

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46
Q

Base Load

A

Demand of electricity that is constant throughout the day or year - demand doesn’t (or rarely) dips beneath this level

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47
Q

Natural monopoly

A

A monopoly in an industry in which it is most efficient for a single firm to supply (i.e. economies of scale mean that the marginal cost of suppling for the first firm achieves the lowest average cost to supply)

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48
Q

Coal-by-wire

A

Original name for electricity - which could supply energy (previously supplied by coal) over distances that were traversed by wires

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49
Q

Engine

A

A type of motor - concerts thermal energy to do mechanical work (like in a car)

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50
Q

Motor

A

A machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy

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51
Q

Generation

A

Creation of electricity from primary energy sources (i.e. coal, natural gas, nuclear)

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52
Q

Transmission

A

The movement of energy from one place to another.

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53
Q

Distribution

A

The distribution of electricity within the grid - differentiated from transmission in that it relates to carrying of electricity to end users (as opposed to transmission which usually refers to movement over distance of electricity from generation to grid entry point)

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54
Q

PUHCA

A

Public Utility Holding Company Act: a law passed in 1935 by congress to facilitate the regulation of electric utilities. Forced divestiture so that companies operated in limited geographic areas (limiting competition).

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55
Q

PURPA

A

Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act: passed in 1978 as part of the National Energy Act to promote greater use of renewable energy, and to force natural monopolies to buy power from more efficient producers. This was a more “free market” approach, hoped to bring down costs and drive efficiency.

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56
Q

Deregulation

A

Original idea to separate Distribution Utilities (and Transmission) from generation - Started in the 80s and slowed in the late 90s

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57
Q

Stranded costs

A

Occur when investments are made and then capital cannot be used to deliver services (i.e. power plant not located near demand)

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58
Q

Control Area

A

Area of control granted to a utility to provide energy. (Need to check this)

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59
Q

IOU

A

investor owned utility; a business organization, providing a product or service regarded as a utility (often termed a public utility regardless of ownership), and managed as private enterprise rather than a function of government or a utility cooperative.

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60
Q

RTOs

A

Regional transmission organisation; can act as a third-party regulator of electricity transmission in a deregulated market

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61
Q

Scheduling

A

Advance scheduling of generation capacity (or demand reduction) provided to utilities to meet load requirements ahead of time

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62
Q

Frequency regulation

A

In order to synchronize generation assets for electrical grid operation, the alternating current (ac) frequency must be held within tight tolerance bounds. Different methods available for “frequency regulation” include generator inertia, adding and subtracting generation assets, dedicated demand response and electricity storage. Is one of the ancillary services.

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63
Q

Reliability

A

The degree upon which a generation source can be counted upon to dispatched when needed

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64
Q

Intermittency

A

Degree of fluctuation over time in a source of electricity that is outside the control of the generator operator (e.g. as with wind, which depends on natural weather patterns that are unpredictable)

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65
Q

Dispatchable

A

Ability for an electricity supply to be called on when needed

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66
Q

Resilience

A

Ability of the grid to withstand adverse shocks (i.e. flood, disruption)

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67
Q

Smart Grid

A

A grid that is able to provide realtime information about supply and demand, and actively and automatically balance supply and demand through monitoring and control of devices and services.

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68
Q

Bus-bar

A

a strip of material that conducts electricity within a switchboard

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69
Q

Bus-bar costs

A

Same as levelised cost of electricity: it’s the cost to produce, measured at the bus-bar (i.e. as the electricity is leaving the boundary of the electric plant and entering the grid)

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70
Q

Stranded costs

A

refers to existing investments that are no longer cost competitive to market incumbents as new entrants to the market can build the same generating capacity with new technology for cheaper

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71
Q

Overnight costs

A

The cost to build a power plant, denominated in $/unit of capacity, assuming all costs were incurred “overnight”

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72
Q

Fixed O&M

A

The cost to run a power plant, denominated in $/unit of capacity, that does not vary with the output of the plant

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73
Q

Variable O&M

A

The cost to run a power plant, denominated in $/unit of electricity produced

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74
Q

Heat Rate

A

A measure of the energy in/energy out of a power plant, denominated usually as Units energy in (MJ)/Units electricity out (kWh)

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75
Q

Capacity Factor

A

The net capacity factor of a power plant is the ratio of the actual output of a power plant over a period of time and its output if it had operated at full nameplate capacity the entire time.

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76
Q

Discount Rate

A

The financial discount applied to future cash flows - critical for measuring the overnight cost of a plant because plants have long lifespans

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77
Q

WACC

A

Weighted average cost of capital - often the basis of deciding on an appropriate discount rate. Reflects the cost of money to investors.

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78
Q

Wholesale Market

A

Market of buyers and sellers of electricity. Includes generators and utilities (consumers do not usually participate in wholesale markets unless they are very large industrials)

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79
Q

Organized Market

A

where an RTO or ITO acts as a third-party independent operator of an electrcity transmission system; this regional planning approach allows for the pooling of resources and therefore the need for fewer plants than on a state-by-state basis. By cutting the need for more power plants, ISO/RTOs help save consumers money and substantially reduce emissions.

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80
Q

Bid Stack

A

The “stack” of bids to supply capacity made by generators. Bids are stacked in order of the bid price - lowest at the bottom of the stack. Utilities purchase in the auction starting with lowest price.

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81
Q

Load Duration Curve

A

A downward sloping curve that shows on the Y axis capacity, and on the x axis, how much of the day (or time period) that capacity is required for). Area under the curve is total energy requirement.

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82
Q

Credit Rating

A

evaluation of creditworthiness in a debt market; important when considering the loaning behavior an energy project may dictate

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83
Q

Rate Case

A

Case made by utilies about how much they should be allowed to charge customers. Is based on their investments and costs.

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84
Q

Energy Efficiency

A

Energy efficiency is a means of using less energy to provide the same (or greater) level of energy services.

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85
Q

ESCO

A

Energy service company

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86
Q

Premium Efficiency Investment

A

Investment made to achieve greater efficiency - i.e. in building energy efficiency, plant energy consumption efficiency or motor efficiency. Investment case looks at the marginal cost of improving the effiency vs the marginal benefit of the reduced energy consumption

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87
Q

Decoupling

A

Splitting from a general trend. (E.g. per capita energy consumption in California decoupled from the National trend from the mid-1970s due to energy efficiency regulation there)

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88
Q

Demand Response

A

Managing demand to achieve economic smoothing of electricity load throughout the day - intended to reduce peaks or smooth the overall demand curve during the day (and year). Has the benefit of reducing prices for ALL users as all users pay the peak load price at those times.

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89
Q

Interruptible Tariff

A

A tariff for commercial and industrial customers that allows a utility to “interrupt” their supply by requesting them at short notice to reduce their operations and decrease demand for a period of time.

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90
Q

Economic Demand Response

A

Created by providing a price incentive for customers to manage their own demand - real time pricing induces customers to reduce their use in peak times.

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91
Q

Direct Load Control

A

Typically for residential customers, allows utility to have automated control of common applications (e.g. air conditioning, pool pumps), given for nominal credit or other incentives.

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92
Q

Response Time

A

How quickly a demand response method can response to the needs of the grid. Fastest are ancillary services, slowest are economic and emergency. Peaking alternatives are 10-60 minutes.

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93
Q

Ancillary Services

A

Services provided to improve the stability and reliability of the grid. Includes: scheduling and dispatch, reactive power and voltage control, loss compensation, load following, system protection, energy imbalance

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94
Q

What is green and sits in the corner?

A

A naughty frog.

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95
Q

LCOE

A

Levelised Cost of Energy: Calculation of the cost of energy including capital requirements for generation and fuel costs, used to compare energy costs across different sources

96
Q

LCOE - unsubsidized

A

Levelised Cost of Energy: (see LCOE), not including subsidies for any element of production (subsidies could include reduced taxes, low cost loans, preferential access to materials etc)

97
Q

LCOE - subsidized

A

Levelised Cost of Energy: (see LCOE), including subsidies for any element of production (subsidies could include reduced taxes, low cost loans, preferential access to materials etc)

98
Q

Prime Mover

A

The prime mover is a mechanical device that converts some kind of energy into kinetic energy carried by a flowing fluid (e.g. hose pump, hydraulic pump, air column)

99
Q

Power Take-off

A

PTO: is any of several methods for taking power from a power source and transmitting it to an application (e.g. air turbine, hydroelectric magnet, linear magnet, power ram)

100
Q

Fungibility

A

Comparabiliity of two things: to be fungible, comparison items must be the same. For energy, they must be the same in terms of the WHAT, WHERE, WHEN and HOW CERTAIN

101
Q

Reprocessing

A

Processing of material outputs of an energy generation process: particularly important for nuclear energy to deal with spent fuel rods.

102
Q

Induced Seimicity

A

The potential for geothermal (in this case) to induce earthquakes. One of the risks and obstacles to Geothermal energy.

103
Q

Emissions

A

Gas or liquid emitted from energy generation (e.g. carbon from coal fired power generation, but could include toxic emissions too)

104
Q

Run-of-River

A

Type of hydro-electric power generation: does not include dams, but rather uses the natural run of river to power turbines. Smaller units, lower output (less upfront capital required). Does not induce flooding.

105
Q

Flood Control

A

One of the main reasons that hydroelectric dams are built - can be used to prevent flooding and provide irrigation - helps justify the high cost of building dams which could often not be justified from the revenues generated by selling the electricity alone

106
Q

Project finance

A

financing of long-term infrastructure, industrial projects and public services based upon a non-recourse or limited recourse financial structure where project debt and equity used to finance the project are paid back from the cashflow generated by the project

107
Q

Construction finance

A

financing of construction projects

108
Q

Sponsor

A

The parent company that develops or “sponsors” the project

109
Q

Equity

A

Share of assets of a company owned by stockholders (the rest is debt).

110
Q

Debt

A

Money borrowed to finance investment

111
Q

EPC

A

acronym that stands for engineering, procurement and construction; common form of contract agreement within the construction industry

112
Q

PPA

A

A power purchase agreement is a contract between two parties, one who generates electricity for the purpose (the seller) and one who is looking to purchase electricity (the buyer). The PPA defines all of the commercial terms for the sale of electricity between the two parties, including when the project will begin commercial operation, schedule for delivery of electricity, penalties for under delivery, payment terms, and termination. A PPA is the principal agreement that defines the revenue and credit quality of a generating project and is thus a key instrument of project finance

113
Q

REC

A

Renewable Energy Certificates(RECs), also known asGreen tags,Renewable Energy Credits,Renewable Electricity Certificates, orTradable Renewable Certificates(TRCs), are tradable, non-tangible energy commodities in the United States that represent proof that 1megawatt-hour(MWh) ofelectricitywas generated from an eligiblerenewable energyresource (renewable electricity). These certificates can be sold and traded or bartered, and the owner of the REC can claim to have purchased renewable energy.

114
Q

Off-taker

A

The purchaser of the electricity from a generation project (e.g. a utility company)

115
Q

Merchant Power

A

Power produced by generators placed on brownfield sites: i.e. existing industrial sites (e.g. wind turbines placed on land owned by heavy industry, which could then buy the power at reduced rates)

116
Q

Warranties

A

contractual mechanisms that guarantee significant unbudgeted expenses will not be borne by the project company

117
Q

Security

A

a tradeable asset of any kind; include debt securities, equity securities and derivative contracts

118
Q

Coverage Ratio

A

A measure of a company’s ability to meet its financial obligations

119
Q

PTC

A

Production Tax Credit

120
Q

ITC

A

Investment Tax Credit

121
Q

Accelerated Depreciation

A

Depreciating assets for tax purposes faster than their real-life depreciation rates. Gives a tax bonus as brings forward the tax benefit of depreciation.

122
Q

Project Finance Waterfall

A

Stack of potential sources of funding for energy projects - the ones used will depend on how mature the project is. Sources include: government, venture capital, private equity, public equity markets, mergers and acquisitions, credit (debt) markets, and carbon finance. (in order from technology research -> technology development -> manufacturing scale-up - > roll-out)

123
Q

Risk-adjusted Cost

A

Cost estimation that includes adjustment for risk factors - requires use of lower market-based discount rates to account for future uncertainty. Risks include construction risk, fuel and operating cost risk, new regulation risk, carbon price risk, water constraint risk, capital shock risk, planning risk.

124
Q

Nominal Interest Rate

A

The interest rate as stated including inflation (i.e. the quoted interest rate)

125
Q

Real Interest Rate

A

Real interest rate adjusted for inflation (so lower than the nominal as long as inflation is positive)

126
Q

Experience curve

A

Used to desribe the relationship between cost of production and cumulative production over time - typically linear in the log-log relationship (i.e. percentage cost reduction is related to percentage increase in cumulative production). Holds strongly for many technologies

127
Q

Learning

A

Learning drives the experience curve effect. Caused by scale increases, technology improvements and input price changes. Nature of the technology dictates the progress ratio, which is the speed of decrease in costs.

128
Q

Learning investments

A

Investment required to move a technology from development to the break even point; graphically it should be understood as the area under the progress ratio curve. Break-even occurs when project ratio intersects with incumbent technology

129
Q

Disruption

A

When one technology achieves significant enough market uptake to disrupt another incumbent technology.

130
Q

Parity

A

Equality in cost between two goods (or types of energy generation). Grid parity is often thought of as a critical threshold for renewable technologies - i.e. when the cost of electricity delivered to the grid is the same (and trending lower) than that of traditional electricity sources. Parity does NOT guarantee market uptake though. Need to be specific to avoid ambiguity: referring to cost or price parity? Subsidized or unsubsidized? Centralized or distributed capacity?

131
Q

Market shakeout

A

One possible cause of technology disruption: occurs when prices of inputs change rapidly (e.g. in solar when sylicon prices changed abruptly). Differentiated from technology structural change where technology improvements produce rapid cost decreases.

132
Q

Price umbrella

A

The perod before market shakeout; new producers will learn and therby reduce their costs. This leads to an unstable situation where more producers become low-cost producers and the difference between the price and the cost for these producers becomes larger and larger.

133
Q

Normalization

A

The period after market shakeout, also known as the stability period; experience curve has same progress ratio as the cost curve. Stability entails a fixed cost/price ratio.

134
Q

Distributed generation

A

Smaller generating units, spread over larger areas. Significant benefits in reduced transmission and distribution costs.

135
Q

Insolation

A

Rates of sunlight hitting the earth’s surface. Differ in different areas. Critical to cost effectiveness of solar.

136
Q

Soft costs

A

Construction industry term for an expense that is not a direct construction cost (e.g. architectural, engineering, financing, legal fees).

137
Q

Bankability

A

Ability to yield profit

138
Q

MACRS

A

Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System: defines the ability to depreciate capital goods for tax treatment. NEED MORE CONTENT HERE

139
Q

Leveraged Partnership Flip

A

A leveraged partnership structure allows a seller to transfer most of the economic interest in a business in exchange for cash without triggering current taxes

140
Q

Pecuniary Costs and Benefits

A

Costs incurred by others - i.e. not direct costs of generation. E.g. 1. loss of revenue for fixed charge coverage. 2. Administrative charges. 3. Firming expense for intermittent renewables. 4. Change in fixed asset lifetime and performance. Benefits include: Transmission and distribution investment offsets. 2. Line losses and Congestion. 3. Merit order effect (THIS IS JUST A TRANSFER AND THIS MAKES ME ANGRY). 4. Fuel price hedge. 5. Grid hardening.

141
Q

Value of Solar Tariff

A

Value ascribed to the payment of a tariff for solar: can include multiple aspects which will affect the value calculation - e.g. Energy value, generation capacity value, environmental effects, T&D capacity benefits, market price reduction, economic development, long term societal benefit and security enhancement. In the lectures.

142
Q

Batteries

A

Energy storage device. Particularly important as a potential way to smooth power output for intermittent technologies, and also critical in the cost of electric vehicles. Come in many types (e.g. chemical, spinning, compressed air/gas, pumped hydro, fuel cells)

143
Q

Fuel Cell

A

A device that converts chemical energy into electricity through a chemical reaction using oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is the most common fuel for fuel cells. Differ from batteries in that they need a constant source of fuel and oxygen/air to sustain the reaction, but also can be operated continuously as long as these constituents of the reaction are provided.

144
Q

Energy Density

A

Total energy storable in a given amount of space or weight - both metrics important for different applications.

145
Q

Weight Energy Density

A

Total amount of energy storable in a battery per unit of weight (denominated in kWh/weight)

146
Q

Volume Energy Density

A

Total amount of energy storable in a batter per unit of volume

147
Q

Power Density

A

Refers to the total amount of power (time rate of energy transfer) that can be discharged from a battery per unit of volume.

148
Q

Response Time

A

Speed at which a battery can begin to discharge energy. Critical in terms of what it can be used for. Categories: power quality management, requires second-to-minute response, use flywheels, capacitors, superconducting magnetic storage. Bridging power requires minute to 1hr, use high energy density batteries. Energy management (for load following, capacity, transmission and distribution deferral) requires hours to days response time - use CAES, pumped hydro, high energy batteries

149
Q

Lifetime

A

Total lifetime of a battery, usually measurable in cycles. Critical for determining the LCOS for different sources (in the same way that plant lifetime affects the amortized capital cost for LCOE)

150
Q

Hazmat Issues

A

Hazardous material issue: relates to batteries and

151
Q

Cycle

A

One full use and recharge of a battery.

152
Q

Cycle Cost

A

Cost of a full use and recharge of a battery - important to consider scrap recovery benefits which reduce overall costs of batteries in lifetime cost analysis.

153
Q

LCOS

A

Levelised Cost of Storage: equivalent concept to LCOE, involves estimating the total cost for fungible sources of stored energy. Requires equivalence in response time and density for proper comparison (this is hard).

154
Q

Time Shifting

A

Changing the time of demand/supply peaks to smooth the overall demand curve.

155
Q

Peak Shaving

A

Reducing peaks (potentially by release of stored energy from batteries or other storage) in energy required from traditional generators. Reduces cost.

156
Q

Firming

A

using stored energy to smooth power output for intermittent technologies; useful to make solar and wind more viable

157
Q

Pumped Hydro

A

Water elevated through mechanical pumping to greater height, so that it can be released to generate electricity as per a hydro plant. A form of stored energy.

158
Q

Resource

A

Are everything. Refers to all the potential sources of energy under the ground or above it. Used mostly in the context of oil but can be applied elsewhere

159
Q

Reserve

A

Are those quantities commercially recoverable by developig known accumulations under defined conditions. Must be: discovered through one or more exploratory wells, recoverable using existing technology, commercially viable, remaining in the ground. Used mostly in the context of oil but can be applied to coal, gas etc.

160
Q

Production

A

Oil that has been extracted and is ready for use.

161
Q

Depletion

A

Effect of reduced production from reserves over time as oil is extracted. Refers both to the reduction in oil left in a reserve, but also to the reduced rate of extraction possible.

162
Q

Peak Oil

A

Refers to the peaking of production of oil.

163
Q

Supply Elasticity

A

Change in supply for a given change in price: measured in percentage terms (% change for a % change).

164
Q

Unconventional Oil

A

Oil produced by methods other than traditional oil well extraction.

165
Q

Shale Oil

A

A type of unconventional oil. Shale oil, known also as kerogen oil or oil-shale oil, is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock (kerogen) into synthetic oil and gas.

166
Q

Tar Sands Oil

A

A type of unconvention oil deposit. Consists of loose sand satured with a viscous form of petroleum technically referred to as bitumen but often referred to as tar (“TAAR”).

167
Q

Natural Gas Liquids

A

Fuel liquids that can be refined from extracted natural gas: includes methane, ethane, propane, and butane

168
Q

Asset Lock-in

A

refers to sunnk costs in the form of assets that are no longer usable or economic to use; possibly referring to natural gas import infrastructure that can’t be converted

169
Q

Refining

A

Process of converting crude oil to usable petrochemicals through cracking.

170
Q

Passenger-Kilometers

A

Metric for comparing the efficiency of different transport methods for passengers: used in calculations like “energy per passenger kilometer”.

171
Q

Tonne-Kilometers

A

Metric for comparing the efficiency of different transport methods for freight: used in calculations like “energy per tonne-kilometer” which is energy required to transport a tonne of material one kilometer

172
Q

CAFÉ Standards

A

Corporate Average Fuel Economy: first established in 1975 as regulation to improve passenger vehicle fuel efficiency. Showed dramatic fuel improvement through 1985, but then ignored when oil price decreased.

173
Q

Fleet Efficiency

A

Measure of the total efficiency of the total number of cars on the road in terms of energy used per kilometer travelled.

174
Q

Ethanol

A

Liquid fuel source typically produced from corn or sugar via fermentation. Used as a fuel source in USA and Brazil (and elsewhere) in addition to petroleum. Can also be made from cellulosic feedstocks.

175
Q

Biodiesel

A

Hydrocarbon based diesel products.

176
Q

Collulosic biofuels

A

Biofuels derived from cellulosic feedstocks (i.e. wood, grass, or the inedible parts of plants).

177
Q

Algae-based fuels

A

Biofuels made from algae: have the advantage of requiring less fresh water for production, and being able to be produced on land not necessarily needed for food growth

178
Q

Drop-in fuel

A

Fuels that can be blended directly with petroleum (e.g. at the pump) without the need for additional processing like addition of sulphur

179
Q

Feedstock

A

Plant matter required for production of biofuels (could refer also to coal/gas/other fuels required for different types of energy generation)

180
Q

Rapeseed

A

One of the potential feedstocks for biodiesel; thrid largst contributor to world vegetable oil supply

181
Q

Jatropha

A

One of the potential feedstocks for biodiesel; native to the Americas and is resistant to drought, pest and produces seeds with oil

182
Q

Energy content

A

From biofuels: the energy contained within a unit of fuel

183
Q

GHG balance

A

Concept referring to the total GHG emissions profile of different fuels - includes the carbon absorbtion from the atmosphere involved in creating biofuels.

184
Q

RFS/RFS 2

A

Renewable Fuel Standard/2 which required renewable fuels to be blended into transportation fuel. Escalates to 36 billion gallons by 2022.

185
Q

RIN

A

a serial number assigned to a batch of biofuel for the purpose of tracking its production, use, and trading as required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard implemented according to the Energy Policy Act of 2005

186
Q

Blend Wall

A

where saturation of an ethanol market creates a barrier to accommodating additional ethanol supply

187
Q

Food vs. Fuel

A

Tension between the competing uses of land, relating specifically to biofuel production from corn or sugar (mostly).

188
Q

Co-Products

A

From biofuels: creation of additional products alongside the main biofuel production. Contributes to the economics of the fuel production if co-products can be sold for additional revenue.

189
Q

EV

A

electric vehicles

190
Q

BEV

A

battery-electric vehicles

191
Q

PHEV

A

Plug-in hybrid vehicles: have both an electric engine and a petroleum motor. Battery can be recharged through plug-in. Runs like an electric vehicle (usually) but is backed up.

192
Q

Range-Assisted Vehicle

A

Really just a hybrid, but a marketing term intended to convey that it’s electric but “backed up” but an ICE.

193
Q

Range Anxiety

A

Fear of not having enough range in an electric vehicle.

194
Q

Regenerative Braking

A

Technology to allow energy to be collected during the breaking process and used to recharge (momentarily) the battery in an EV

195
Q

Level 2 Charger

A

Strong draw charger for EV - 500V DC/125 A, can charge a battery in 30 mins

196
Q

Excess Demand Hypothesis

A

Targets for stock by country exceeded the projected supplies of electric vehicles - leading to expectations of supply shortages. However, in the end both were overstated - supply and demand ended at the bottom end of the projected range.

197
Q

Cycle Cost

A

the cost of a battery ammortized over the amount of charge cycles a battery is built to provide

198
Q

Substitutability

A

the ablity to substitute one battery for another universally; a strategy to address range anxiety

199
Q

Behavioral Issues

A

refers to the behaviors of consumers that inhibit uptake of potentially cost-saving and environment-saving technology

200
Q

Frequency Regulation

A

refers to the idea that plug in vehicles can help regulate frequency on the grid

201
Q

Conventional Gas

A

gas that is trapped in structures in the rock that are caused by folding and/or faulting of sedimentary layers.

202
Q

Associated Gas

A

also known as flare gas; a form of natural gas that is found with deposits of petroleum; historically treated as a waste product of oil produciton, now a valuable co-product

203
Q

Tight Gas

A

refers to natural gas reservoirs locked in extraordinarily impermeable, hard rock, making the underground formation extremely “tigh;” as opposed to conventional gas tight gas is not easily extracted

204
Q

Wet Gas

A

natural gasthat contains an appreciable proportion ofhydrocarboncompounds heavier than methane (e.g.,ethane,propane, andbutane); the heavier hydrocarbons arecondensablewhen brought to the surface and are frequently separated as natural gas liquids (NGLs). Alternatively, the propane and other lighter compounds may be marketed asliquefied petroleum gas(LPG), and heavier hydrocarbons may be made intogasoline(petrol).

205
Q

Fracking

A

hydraulic fracturing; process to extract unconventional gas wherby pressurized liquid is used to fracture geological formations to release gas trapped

206
Q

Shale Gas

A

a form of tight gas; shale gas is located in shale formations

207
Q

Stranded Gas

A

gas that has been discovered, but remains unusable for either physical or economic reasons; typically occurs when smaller reserves of gas are found, or they reserves are far from land as gas pipeline infrastructure is expensive

208
Q

CNG

A

compressed natural gas; consists of methane stored at high pressure

209
Q

LNG

A

liquefied natural gas is the condensed form of CNG; typically the form in which natural gas is transferred

210
Q

Coal-to-Gas Switching

A

switching coal fired generation of electrcity to either fully gas fired generation or a hybrid form of generation; very expensive

211
Q

Rig Count

A

a weekly tally of the number of drillig rigs actively exploring or looking for or developing oil or natural gas in a given area

212
Q

Rig Productivity

A

rig productivity measure starts with an estimate of crude and natural gas output from new wells in a region during their first month in production. Rig productivity (calculated separately for oil and for gas) is that new well output divided by the number of drilling rigs in the region.

213
Q

Break Even

A

refers to break even price, a long-term average cost of natural gas a drilling firm needs to clear for a well to economically viable

214
Q

Greenhouse Gases

A

gases which allow direct sunlight (relative shortwave energy) to reach the Earth’s surface unimpeded. As the shortwave energy (that in the visible and ultraviolet portion of the spectra) heats the surface, longer-wave (infrared) energy (heat) is reradiated to the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases absorb this energy, thereby allowing less heat to escape back to space, and ‘trapping’ it in the lower atmosphere.

215
Q

Climte Change

A

differentiated from global warming; climate change refers to any significant change in the measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time; includes major changes in temperature, precipitation, or wind patterns

216
Q

Carbon Caputre and Sequestration

A

emissions mitigation option; CCS refers to the capture, or removal, of CO2 at large industrial sources and its subsequent compression, transport, and injection into the subsurface for storage

217
Q

Fugitive Emissions

A

priary energy product that is not accounted for in final emission counts; one argument against natural gas is fugitive emissions from NG infrastructure in the form of unburned methane

218
Q

Carbon Tax

A

market based appraoch to carbon mitigation; levies a fee on the production, distribution or use of fossil fuels based on how much carbon their combustion emits; government sets a price per ton on carbon, then translates it into a tax on electricity, natural gas or oil.

219
Q

Cap and Trade

A

another market based approach to carbon mitigation; mandates a firm limit on carbon emission but facilitates a trading program to allow for flexibility. Forces firms to pay other firms for the ability to emit beyond the carbon ceiling.

220
Q

Kyoto Protocol

A

an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, whichcommitsits Parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets; recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations; adopted in Kyoto, Japan in 1997; not ratified into force by United States senate

221
Q

Emission Trading Scheme (ETS)

A

ETS puts a price on the emission of greenhouse gases; EU most successful implementation of ETS

222
Q

Climate Development Mechanism

A

allows a country with an emission-reduction or emission-limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to implement an emission-reduction project in developing countries; effort can be counted toward reaching Kyoto goals

223
Q

RGGI

A

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is the first market-based regulatory program in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; states sell nearly all emission allowances through auctions and invest proceeds in consumer benefits: energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other clean energy technologies.

224
Q

Social Cost of Carbon

A

figure used to estimate climate change damages brought on by carbon emissions

225
Q

Abatement Cost

A

cost borne by a firm to remove or reduce an undesirable byproduct that emerges from production

226
Q

Abatement Curve

A

a cost curve showing the net benefits and net costs of carbon abatement

227
Q

Dung

A

animal byproduct used across portions of the developing world to heat homes and power rudimentary stove technology; emissions from dung are said to contribute to the early death of over 3 million people/year

228
Q

Infrastructure Argument

A

Argument against a simple coal fix to the dung problem; it’s not really a fuel issue but an access issue. In many rural areas where dung is used electricty provision is not economical

229
Q

Diesel gen-sets

A

diesel powered generators

230
Q

Energy Budget

A

a valuable comparison when looking at the portion of budgets in the developing world devoted to energy; 2-5% more income is devoted to energy in developing world compared to developed world. Signals large need but also area where investment in low-cost energy could yield huge ROIC

231
Q

Rural Electrification

A

the concept that providing electricity to rural areas is not cost competitive because distance coverage is the largest cost component of electrcity; the same power line that services a hypothetical village can also power areas with dense population

232
Q

Biomass

A

biological material derived from living or recently living organisms; used for fuel

233
Q

Leapfrogging

A

the idea that later stage economic developmet may require less energy; solution to avoid capital requirements of industrialization

234
Q

Bio-char

A

a solid material obtained from the carbonisation of biomass; may be added to soils to improve soil functions and to reduce emissions from biomass that would otherwise naturally degrade to greenhouse gases. Biochar also has appreciable carbon sequestration value.

235
Q

Microfinance

A

form of financial services for individuals or communities to provide capital for microenterprises

236
Q

Microenterprise

A

small business; often community run in this context

ESF (2 decks)

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