Glossary of energy terms
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The following is a glossary of the terms used in theEnergy Policy Project,Fracking Policy Project and theEnvironmental Policy Project. Each term in this article includes a brief definition. Click on a term for a more in-depth article on the subject.
Terms
Energy-related terms
- Abandoned mine drainage (AMD) is contaminated water produced duringcoal. It is managed by mining companies to reduce its effects on the surrounding amount.[1]
- Biofuels are liquid fuels created from blendingbiomassfeedstock.[2]
- Biomass is a form of energy made from organic, biological, non-fossil materials, also known as biomassfeedstock.[3]
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a naturally occurring gas and a byproduct of human and animal respiration as well as coal, oil, and natural gas use. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere that keeps Earth habitable for life.[4]
- Climate change is a substantial change in the statistical measures of climate over an extended period of time. These measures temperature, precipitation, wind patterns, drought, and more.[5]
- Coal is composed of plant materials that have slowly been shaped by pressure and heat under the Earth's surface to become a black or brown rock. Coal is afossil fuel that is used to generate electricity.[6]
- Coalbed methane is themethane contained incoal seams.[7]
- Compressed natural gas (CNG) isnatural gas that has been compressed and stored in pressurized tanks.
- Cracking, also known as catalytic cracking, is the process in which the heavyhydrocarbon molecules incrude oil are broken down into smaller molecules using a catalyst. It allowscrude oil extracted from the ground to be made into a usable substance.[8]
- Crude oil is a liquid mixture ofhydrocarbons mined from under the Earth’s surface. Crude oil can be refined into diesel and jet fuel, propane, butane, ethane and gasoline.[9]
- Energy siting, also known as energy facility siting, is the process of planning and constructing energy-generating facilities.[10]
- Ethanol is ethyl alcohol, also called "grain alcohol" (CH3CH2OH). Ethanol is a clear, liquid, biofuel that is produced by the fermentation of plant sugars.[11]
- Feedstocks are raw materials for industrial use. Also known asbiomass feedstocks, feedstocks include prairie grass, soybeans and corn.[12]
- Geothermal energy is arenewable energy resource created by using water or steam generated by geothermal reservoirs under the Earth to generate electricity or water pumps.[13]
- Agreen job is a term used by some organizations to refer to a job that involves producing goods or services related to an environmental benefit or the conservation of natural resources.[14]
- Greenhouse gases are heat-trapping gases that absorb infrared radiation in the Earth's atmosphere. These gases include methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, ozone, and water vapor.[15]
- Hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs) include propane, isobutane, normal butane, ethane, isobutylene, butylene, propylene and ethylene.[16]
- Hydroelectric energy, or hydropower, is arenewable energy resource that uses the flow of water to generate electricity.[17]
- MCF is an abbreviation for a million cubic feet and is typically used to measure natural gas. One MCF equals roughly 1 million British Thermal Units (BTU).[18]
- Amegawatt (MW), or one million watts of electricity, is a unit for measuring the rate at which electricity is consumed or produced.[19][20][21]
- Megawatt hour (MWh), is one thousand kilowatts applied over an hour. This unit measures both how fast energy is used and over a given period of time.[22][23]
- Methane (CH4) is the main component ofnatural gas. Methane is an organic compound and agreenhouse gas.[24][25]
- Net metering is a billing system where customers who generate their own electricity transfer their excess electricity into the electricity grid.[26]
- Nuclear power is a way of generating energy by using heat that escapes during the nuclear fission process.[27]
- Ozone is a gas found in the Earth's stratosphere and absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the sun.[28]
- ThePublic Trust Doctrine is a legal principle that requires a state to keep navigable waters within a state a public resource available for navigation, commerce, and fishing.[29]
- Renewable energy resources naturally replenish and are limited in a way that a specific amount of energy is available per unit of time. These resources includewind,solar,biomass,geothermal andhydroelectric energy.[30]
- Solar energy is arenewable energy resource that is generated by the radiant heat of the sun. Once collected, solar energy is used to generate heat or electricity.[31]
- Traditional energy resources or nonrenewable energy resources are replenished over an extended period of time. These traditional energy resources includeoil,coal andnatural gas.[32]
- Wind energy is arenewable energy resource that is collected from the kinetic energy of wind and is converted into mechanical and electric energy.[33]
Fracking-related terms
- Basins are collections of organic sediments in depressions of the Earth's surface.[34]
- BTEX is a chemical compound made of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene. BTEX is composed of naturally occurring chemicals that are typically found in petroleum products such as gasoline, home heating oil and diesel fuel.[35]
- Directional drilling is drilling that is purposefully non-vertical.[36]
- Flares are part of safety systems installed at wellheads, processing plants and gas refineries. If elevated levels of combustible gases are detected, natural gas is piped to a remote location and burned off.[37]
- Flowback is the mixture of water and chemicals that flows up to the surface after a well has been fracked.[38]
- Frac sand refers to one type ofproppant used by fracking companies infrack fluid.[39]
- Frack fluid is the combination of water, chemicals andsand (orproppant) that is injected into a well to release the gas trapped within. Water makes up much of this fluid.[40]
- Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process of injecting fluid--mostly water andsand (orproppant) as well as additional chemicals--into the ground at a high pressure in order to fractureshale rocks to release thehydrocarbons, includingnatural gas, inside.[41]
- Geosteering involves directing a drill bit using geological markers.[42]
- Horizontal drilling is a type of well drilling that allows users to access sites that are not directly below a drilling site.[43]
- Hydrocarbons are chemical compounds containing carbon and hydrogen. Hydrocarbons are organic compounds and can be solids, liquids or gases.[44]
- Liquid Petroleum Gases or LPG are thehydrocarbon gases that come from refinedcrude oil and processednatural gas. The primary gases that make up LPG are isobutane, normal butane and propane.[45]
- Mineral rights refer to the right to own and mine minerals under the Earth's surface.[46]
- Natural gas is atraditional energy resource composed of gaseoushydrocarbons, the primary compound beingmethane.[47]
- Natural gas liquids (NGL) include propane, isobutane, normal butane, ethane and other liquefied refinery natural gases.[48]
- Natural gas storage refers to the storage of natural gas until needed by electricity suppliers and other consumers. Natural gas can be stored both underground and in tanks above ground in liquid form.[49]
- Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials or NORM are commonly found radioactive materials.[50]
- Oil is atraditional energy resource that is collected from reservoirs under the Earth. It is composed ofhydrocarbons.[51]
- Oil shale, also known as shale rock, is asedimentary rock that contains an organic material called kerogen, which can be converted tocrude oil.[52]
- Petrochemicals are the chemicals that make upcrude oil andnatural gas and are composed ofhydrocarbon molecules.[53]
- Petroleum is a name for a group of substances that includes several mixtures of liquidhydrocarbons.[54][55]
- Petroleum systems, or Total Petroleum Systems (TPS) as defined by the U.S. Geological Survey, are the "essential elements and processes needed for oil and gas accumulations to exist."[56]
- Produced water is a type of water that occurs naturally inshale formations and has been trapped in these formations for millions of years.[57]
- Proppants are small, granular materials added tofrack fluid to prop open the fissures in the rock.[58]
- Sedimentary rocks are rocks created through the accumulation of sediments from water and the earth.[59]
- Shale gas isnatural gas that is found inshale plays.[60]
- Shale plays are areas where given types ofhydrocarbons accumulate.[61][62]
- Slick water frac is any water used inshales that does not contain high levels of gelling agents and uses friction reducers.[63]
- Aslurry is any mixture of water with insoluble matter.[64] Slurries are often used in the same way asfrack fluids and are a mixture of water, other liquids and small amounts of finely ground particles that are injected into a well at high speeds to create fractures in a rock.[65][66]
- Transloading is the transportation of goods from one mode of transportation to another.[67] This type of transportation is used infracking to carry bulk resources to and from dispersed fracking sites and to railway stations to be taken to processing facilities.[68]
- Vertical drilling is a type of drilling that allows users to access sites directly below a drilling site.[69][70]
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) vaporize at room temperature. In the context of energy resources, VOC are part of petroleum products.[71]
- Awellbore is the hole that is drilled to help find and recover material from a well and becomes an actual well hole.[72]
Energy policy legislation and regulation
- TheAmerican Clean Energy and Security Act (HR 2454, also known as the Waxman-Markey bill) proposed acap-and-trade regulatory program to reduce emissions of specified greenhouse gases (GHGs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in an effort to address human-caused climate change.[73]
- TheClean Air Act was designed "to protect public health and welfare from different types of air pollution caused by a diverse array of pollution sources."[74][75][76]
- TheClean Water Act established wastewater standards and the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), which made it illegal for anyone to discharge a pollutant into navigable waters without a permit from theU.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).[77]
- TheCritical Minerals Policy Act of 2013 (S. 1600) was a legislative proposal to manage the assessment, recycling, research, production and forecasting of minerals.[78]
- The purpose of theEndangered Species Acts (ESA) is to "protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend."[79]
- TheFederal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) mandated that federal lands remain under federal ownership. The law declared a comprehensive policy for the use of these lands and authorized theU.S. Bureau of Land Management to carry out this policy.[80][81]
- TheGeneral Mining Law of 1872 regulates the mining of certain mineral resources on federal public domain lands. The law allows individuals and corporations to prospect on public domain lands and to stake claims on mineral discoveries.[82][83]
- Home-rule power is the ability of counties, municipalities, towns, townships or villages to regulate certain activities within their jurisdiction. As of 2013, home-rules powers were found in ten states:Alaska,Iowa,Massachusetts,Montana,New Jersey,New Mexico,Ohio,Oregon,South Carolina andUtah.[84]
- TheMineral Leasing Act of 1920 (MLA) regulates the leasing of federal lands for the development of several mineral resources, includingcoal,oil,natural gas, otherhydrocarbons and other minerals.[85][86]
- TheNational Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) established certain national environmental policy requirements.[79][75]
- TheNatural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (NGPA) authorized theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to regulate both intrastate and interstatenatural gas production and transmission.[78]
- TheNoise Control Act of 1972 (NCA) created a federal policy for the regulation of noise and authorized theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set noise emissions standards.[87]
- ARenewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), also known as a renewable electricity standard, is a mandate intended to increase the amount of renewable energy production.[88]
- Aseverance tax is a tax imposed by a state on the extraction of natural resources (most commonly,oil,coal ornatural gas).[89]
Energy agencies
- TheU.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is a federal agency tasked with regulating more than 245 million surface acres of public land. The bureau also administers approximately 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate. The bureau is a division of theU.S. Department of the Interior.[78]
- TheU.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a United States agency formed in 1970 "to protect human health and the environment."[90]
- TheFederal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is a federal agency that oversees the regulation of interstate transmission of electricity,oil andnatural gas.[78]
- TheU.S. Forest Service (USFS) is a federal agency tasked with overseeing national forests and grasslands. These areas comprised 193 million acres in 44 states andPuerto Rico as of 2014. It is a division of theU.S. Department of Agriculture.[78]
- TheU.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is a federal agency tasked with researching ecosystems, natural resources, and potential natural hazards. As a research agency, the USGS possesses no regulatory authority. It is a division of theU.S. Department of the Interior.[78]
See also
- Energy Policy Project
- Fracking Policy Project
- Energy policy in the United States
- Energy use in the United States
- Fracking in the United States
External links
- U.S. Energy Information Administration Glossary
- U.S. Geological Survey Glossary
- Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary
Footnotes
- ↑U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Abandoned Mine Drainage,” accessed January 30, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, B” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, B” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Glossary, C," accessed November 18, 2014
- ↑U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Climate Change Glossary, C," accessed November 17, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, C” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑U.S. Geological Survey, "Coal-Bed Methane: Potential and Concerns," October 2000
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, C” accessed January 24, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, C” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑Analysis Group, “Siting Energy Facilities in New England: What, Why, Where, and How,” accessed February 3, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Biofuels: Ethanol and Biofuel Explained," accessed February 4, 2014
- ↑Wisconsin State Energy Office, “A Renewable Energy and Bioeconomy Dictionary,” accessed January 30, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, G,” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑TIME Magazine, "What Is a Green-Collar Job, Exactly?" May 26, 2008
- ↑U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Glossary, G," accessed November 17, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, H” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, H” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑Investopedia, "Mcf," accessed August 5, 2014
- ↑Northwest Power and Conservation Council, “Megawatt,” accessed January 30, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, M” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑Union of Concerned Scientists, “How is Electricity Measured,” accessed January 30, 2014
- ↑Northwest Power and Conservation Council, “Megawatt,” accessed January 30, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, M” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑Energy in Depth, "What is Methane?" accessed April 11, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, M” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency, "Glossary," accessed October 22, 2014
- ↑Department of Energy, "The History of Nuclear Energy," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Climate change glossary, O," accessed November 26, 2014
- ↑State of Washington, Department of Ecology, “The Public Trust Doctrine,” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, R” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, S” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, N” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, W” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑Schlumberger, "Oilfield Glossary," accessed April 24, 2014
- ↑United States Geological Survey, “BTEX,” accessed January 23, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, D” accessed January 24, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, H” accessed January 24, 2014
- ↑The Institute for Energy & Environmental Research for Northeastern Pennsylvania, “What is flowback and how does it differ from produced water?” accessed January 27, 2014
- ↑U.S. Geological Survey, “Silica Statistics and Information,” accessed January 23, 2014
- ↑ALL Consulting, Hydraulic Fracture Considerations for Natural Gas Wells of the Marcellus Shale,” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Energy in Brief,” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑American Association of Petroleum Geologists, “Guessing gone for geologists, Geosteering Keeps Drillers On The Right Track,” accessed January 27, 2014
- ↑NaturalGas.org, “Directional and Horizontal Drilling,” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, H” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, L” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑Geology.com, “Mineral Rights,” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, N” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, N” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, "The Basics of Underground Natural Gas Storage," August 2004
- ↑Society of Petroleum Engineers, “Hydraulic Fracturing 101: What Every Representative, Environmentalist, Regulator, Reporter, Investor, University Researcher, Neighbor and Engineer Should Know About Estimating Frac Risk and Improving Frac Performance in Unconventional Gas and Oil Wells,” accessed January 30, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, O” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑“U.S. Geological Survey”, “Energy Resource Program, Oil Shale,” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑Elmhurst College, “Oil to Petrochemicals,” accessed January 27, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, P” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑U.S. Geological Survey, "Organic Origins of Petroleum," December 5, 2013
- ↑U.S. Geological Survey, "The Total Petroleum System--The Natural Fluid Network That Constrains the Assessment Unit," 2000
- ↑The Institute for Energy & Environmental Research for Northeastern Pennsylvania, “What is flowback and how does it differ from produced water?” accessed January 27, 2014
- ↑Frack Wire, “What is Fracking,” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Energy in Brief,” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Energy in Brief,” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑Schlumberger, "Oilfield Glossary," accessed March 18, 2014
- ↑U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Energy in Brief,” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑Society of Petroleum Engineers, “Hydraulic Fracturing 101: What Every Representative, Environmentalist, Regulator, Reporter, Investor, University Researcher, Neighbor and Engineer Should Know About Estimating Frac Risk and Improving Frac Performance in Unconventional Gas and Oil Wells,” accessed January 30, 2014
- ↑Merriam Webster, “slurry,” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑Argonne National Laboratory, “Fact Sheet - Slurry Injection of Drilling Waste,” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Class I Slurry Injection,” February 26, 1998
- ↑Union Pasific Distribution Services, “How Transloading Works,” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑TransLoading.org, “Railcar Transloading,” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑The Institute for Energy & Environmental Research for Northeastern Pennsylvania, “What is horizontal drilling and, how does it differ from vertical drilling?” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑FrackWire, “Drilling technology,” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Glossary,” accessed January 24. 2=14
- ↑Investopedia, “Wellbore,” accessed January 30, 2014
- ↑Congressional Budget Office, "H.R. 2464 - Cost Estimate," June 5, 2009
- ↑U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Clean Air Act Requirements and History," accessed August 7, 2014
- ↑75.075.1U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Understanding the Clean Air Act," accessed August 7, 2014Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "history" defined multiple times with different content - ↑U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "History of the Clean Air Act," accessed August 7, 2014
- ↑U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Summary of the Clean Water Act,” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑78.078.178.278.378.478.5American Institute of Physics, "Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduce Critical Minerals Legislation," December 6, 2013Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "about" defined multiple times with different contentCite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "about" defined multiple times with different contentCite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "about" defined multiple times with different contentCite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "about" defined multiple times with different contentCite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "about" defined multiple times with different content - ↑79.079.1U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "Endangered Species Act - Overview," accessed August 13, 2014Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "overview" defined multiple times with different content - ↑U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 as Amended," accessed August 20, 2014
- ↑Danver, S.L. (2013).Encyclopedia of Politics of the American West. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Reference/CQ Press.
- ↑Congressional Research Service, "Issue Brief for Congress: Mining on Federal Lands," updated June 11, 2002
- ↑The Library of Congress, "Congressional Globe: Debates and Proceedings, 1833-1873," accessed August 14, 2014
- ↑National League of Cities, "Local Government Authority," accessed July 16, 2015
- ↑United States House of Representatives, "Mineral Leasing Act (and Supplementary Laws)," updated January 15, 2014
- ↑Center of the American West, "Mineral Leasing Act," accessed August 21, 2014
- ↑U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Summary of the Noise Control Act," accessed August 27, 2014
- ↑National Renewable Energy Laboratory, “State & Local Activities,” accessed January 30, 2014
- ↑Center for Public Policy and Administration, The University of Utah, "Coal Severance Tax," August 30, 2006
- ↑U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Our Mission and What We Do," accessed March 14, 2014
