Energy glossary

Ampere
Biomass
Climate change
Carbon dioxide
CSR Corporate Social Responsibility
Deregulation
District heat
EMAS
EEX
Emissions trading
Energy production
Fossil fuels
Gas
Generation
GHG
Green certificates
GWh
Hydro power
International Energy Agency
ISO 14001
Joule
kWh
Kyoto accord
Lignite (brown coal)
MWh
Nord Pool
Nuclear power
Oil
Production
Quality Assurance
Renewable energy sources
Solar energy
Sustainable development
Thermal power
TWh
Uranium
Value chain
Waste combustion
Wind power

A

Ampere

A unit of electric current. Abbreviation: A.

B

Biomass

Biomass refers to products, waste and residues from agriculture, forestry and related industries, as well as the biogenic fraction of industrial and municipal waste.
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C

Climate change

Increase of the global temperature caused by a higher concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, adding to the natural greenhouse effect.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂)

Carbon dioxide is naturally present in the atmosphere and involved in photosynthesis, but is also formed during combustion. The chemical formula is CO2. Carbon dioxide is necessary for life on earth to exist. It is a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, see GHG..

CSR Corporate Social Responsibility

A concept whereby companies integrate economical, social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis.
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D

Deregulation

Abolishing monopoly rights and obligations to open up for competition. Used in this report as a synonym for liberalisation.

District heating

A method for distributing heat energy for heating a number of buildings from a central location. To achieve this, hot water is circulated through a system of pipes, usually underground.
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E

EMAS

Eco Management and Audit Scheme. European Commission regulations for environmental management and auditing.

EEX

European Energy Exchange, the German electricity exchange.

Emissions trading

Under the Kyoto Protocol, the Member States of the European Union have undertaken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8 per cent from the level recorded in 1990 by 2008/2012. The Member States have agreed how to share this undertaking in a burden-sharing agreement and have introduced an emissions trading system. The first trading period began on 1 January 2005 (2005–2007), the second will start in 2008 (2008–2012).

Energy

Several different forms of energy exist, for example potential energy, kinetic energy, thermal energy, and electromagnetic energy.
Energy is measured in joule (J) or watt-hours (Wh), meaning power (watt) multiplied by time. It is common practice to use an appropriate prefix, such as kilo for 1,000, mega (M) for 106 (1,000,000), giga (G) for 109 or tera (T) for 1012 (1,000,000,000,000).
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F

Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels are originally formed from vegetation and microorganisms that have been transformed into coal, oil and natural gas over the course of millions of years. Today, fossil fuels are the world’s biggest source of energy, supplying some 80% of all used energy.
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G

Gas

Natural gas is a fossil fuel consisting mainly of methane. Natural gas is commercially produced from oil fields and natural gas fields. It is used in power generation, transportation etc. and is most often transported in pipelines. Biogas is formed when organic matter decays.

Generation

Generation of electricity. (Usage: generation of electricity, production of heat)

GHG

Greenhouse gases — gases in the atmosphere that contribute to the greenhouse effect, such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous dioxide (N2O).

Green certificates

Tradable certificates issued for renewable energy. See Renewable energy.

GWh

A measurement of energy. Abbreviation of gigawatt-hour, or 109 (1,000,000,000) watt-hours.
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H

Hydro power

Hydro power plants use the gravitational force of running water to generate electricity. In reservoir plants, water is kept in dams to be able to regulate the generation. In run-off river plants, turbines are placed directly in the water stream. Pumped storage plants are used to store energy generated from other sources. In Europe, 75% of potential hydropower has been exploited.
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I

International Energy Agency

An independent energy-related organisation connected to the OECD. The IEA has 23 members, all of which are industrialised countries. The organisation works to reduce dependency on oil via energy conservation and the development of renewable energy systems.

ISO 14001

An international standard to certify environmental management systems.
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J

Joule

Unit of work or energy. 1 joule = 1 watt second = 2.7778 ×10−4 watt-hour. Since joule is a small unit, giga joule (GJ) is often used, 109 Joules, which is equivalent to 278 kWh.
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K

kWh

Unit of energy. Abbreviation of kilowatt-hour, or 1,000 watt-hours.

Kyoto accord

International agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. See Emissions trading.
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L

Lignite (brown coal)

Lignite is a soft brown type of coal, with characteristics that places it somewhere between hard coal and peat. Lignite has a lower energy content and different characteristics than the longer-compacted hard coal.
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M

MWh

Unit of energy. Abbreviation of megawatt-hour, or 106 watt-hours.
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N

Nord Pool

The Nordic electricity exchange.

Nuclear power

In nuclear reactors, uranium is used to heat water to generate electricity. Nuclear reactors are normally reloaded with new fuel every 12–24 months, during a stop when maintenance also is done. Nuclear power is used as a base load power in many energy systems.
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O

Oil

A mixture of different hydrocarbons usually called crude oil. Crude oil cannot be used directly, but is a raw material that is refined at an oil refinery into a range of products. See also fossil fuel.
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P

Production

Production of heat. (Usage: production of heat; generation of electricity). See Energy production.
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Q

Quality Assurance

Often abbreviated as QA. Operations at a nuclear power plant involve high levels of safety and accessibility. Safety means the safety of people, the surrounding areas and the facilities themselves. To meet overall goals for safety and accessibility, requirements are established for a number of areas, including safety analyses, operations, maintenance, radiation protection, chemistry, facility changes, accident preparedness and training.
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R

Renewable energy sources

Energy from natural resources that are renewable, or naturally replenished. For example wind, solar, geothermal, wave, tidal, hydropower, biomass and biogas.
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S

Solar energy

The term “solar energy” usually refers to the use of direct sunlight, captured in solar cells and panels. Electricity is produced in solar cells, while heat is produced in solar panels.

Sustainable development

Defined by the Brundtland commission (UN’s commission on environment and development) in 1987. “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
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T

Thermal power

Electricity generated via a heating process, such as a gas turbine or a steam cycle in a coal-fired or nuclear power plant (compare CHP plant).

TWh

Unit of energy. Abbreviation of terawatt-hour, or 1012 watt-hours.
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U

Uranium

A silvery-gray metallic chemical element with the highest atomic weight of the naturally occurring elements, it is approximately 70% denser than lead. Uranium is weakly radioactive and occurs naturally in low concentrations (a few parts per million) in soil, rock and water. It is commercially extracted from uranium-bearing minerals such as uraninite. When used in nuclear reactors, uranium is enriched which means that the content of the isotope U235 has been increased.
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V

Value chain

Process for creating value. Within the power industry this includes the generation, transmission, distribution and selling of electricity.
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W

Waste combustion

Often used in generating heat for district heading grids. As combustible household waste mainly consists of organic material, waste combustion is considered to be a form of bio-energy.

Wind power

Electricity is generated in wind turbines, often built in clusters called wind farms. Power generation depend on wind conditions. Offshore locations generally have stronger winds, but construction and maintenance is more difficult. Therefore, offshore wind power is more expensive than land-based wind power.
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