Energy glossary

Ampere
Base load
Biomass
Capacity
Climate change
Carbon dioxide
CCS
CHP
CSR Corporate Social Responsibility
Deregulation
District heat
Efficiency
EMAS
EPD
EEX
Emissions trading
Energy
Fossil fuels
Gas
Generation
GHG
Green certificates
GWh
Hard coal
Hydro power
International Energy Agency
ISO 14001
Joule
kWh
Kyoto accord
Lignite (brown coal)
MW, MWe, MWth
Nord Pool
Nuclear power
Ocean energy
Oil
Peak load
Production
Quality Assurance
Renewable energy sources
Solar energy
Smart grid
Sustainable development
Thermal power
TWh
Uranium
Value chain
Waste combustion
Wind power

A

Ampere

A unit of electric current. Abbreviation: A.

B

Base load

A term that describes electricity or district heating demand that exists irrespective of load fluctuations. This constant demand is met by power plants that operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. See also peak load.

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

Capacity

Capacity is the maximum ability of for example a power plant  to generate electricity or an electricity distribution grid to transfer electricity. It is usually measured in megawatt (MW). It can refer to input (fuel or thermal capacity, MWth) or output (electric capacity, MWe or heat capacity).

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.

CCS

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) involves technologies for isolating carbon dioxide from flue gas (at combustion plants) and storing it. This means that a significantly lower amount of CO₂ is emitted into the atmosphere. There are three principal ways to capture CO₂ produced in large
power plants:

• Oxyfuel combustion, where fuel is combusted in oxygen instead of air 
• Postcombustion, where CO₂ is removed from the flue gas 
• Precombustion, where carbon is removed from the fuel before combustion

CHP

Combined Heat and Power. CHP plants generate both electricity and heat.

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

Efficiency

The efficiency of a power plant denotes the percentage of the input energy that is converted into electricity and/or heat.

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% until 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 January 1, 2005 (2005–2007), the second one started on January 1, 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).

EPD

Environmental Product Declaration. An ISO standard for certified environmental product declarations. See also:
www.environdec.com (new window)
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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

Hard coal

Hard coal is a black, sedimentary rock type with a carbon content of 84%–91%. See also fossil fuel.

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

MW, MWe, MTth

Unit of power (energy per unit time) . See also capacity.

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

Ocean energy

Energy in waves, currents and tidal streams is used to generate electricity. For example, surface buoys may be used to absorb wave energy.

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

Peak load

Short term peak demand of electricity or district heating is called peak load. See also base load.

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.
More about renewable energy
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S

Smart grid

A smart grid or intelligent network delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using two-way digital technology to control appliances at consumers’ homes to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability and transparency.

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-grey 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 U-235 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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