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Glossary of energy terms

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The following is a glossary of the terms used in the Energy Policy Project, Fracking Policy Project and the Environmental 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

Lights across the United States at night

  • Abandoned mine drainage (AMD) is contaminated water produced during coal. It is managed by mining companies to reduce its effects on the surrounding amount.[1]
  • Biofuels are liquid fuels created from blending biomass feedstock.[2]
  • Biomass is a form of energy made from organic, biological, non-fossil materials, also known as biomass feedstock.[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 a fossil fuel that is used to generate electricity.[6]
  • Coalbed methane is the methane contained in coal seams.[7]
  • Compressed natural gas (CNG) is natural gas that has been compressed and stored in pressurized tanks.
  • Cracking, also known as catalytic cracking, is the process in which the heavy hydrocarbon molecules in crude oil are broken down into smaller molecules using a catalyst. It allows crude oil extracted from the ground to be made into a usable substance.[8]
  • Crude oil is a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons 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 as biomass feedstocks, feedstocks include prairie grass, soybeans and corn.[12]
  • Geothermal energy is a renewable energy resource created by using water or steam generated by geothermal reservoirs under the Earth to generate electricity or water pumps.[13]
  • A green 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 a renewable 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]
  • A megawatt (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 of natural gas. Methane is an organic compound and a greenhouse 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]
  • The Public 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 include wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and hydroelectric energy.[30]
  • Solar energy is a renewable 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 include oil, coal and natural gas.[32]
  • Wind energy is a renewable energy resource that is collected from the kinetic energy of wind and is converted into mechanical and electric energy.[33]

An oil pump at sunset in Texas

  • 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 of proppant used by fracking companies in frack fluid.[39]
  • Frack fluid is the combination of water, chemicals and sand (or proppant) 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 and sand (or proppant) as well as additional chemicals--into the ground at a high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks to release the hydrocarbons, including natural 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 the hydrocarbon gases that come from refined crude oil and processed natural 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 a traditional energy resource composed of gaseous hydrocarbons, the primary compound being methane.[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 a traditional energy resource that is collected from reservoirs under the Earth. It is composed of hydrocarbons.[51]
  • Oil shale, also known as shale rock, is a sedimentary rock that contains an organic material called kerogen, which can be converted to crude oil.[52]
  • Petrochemicals are the chemicals that make up crude oil and natural gas and are composed of hydrocarbon molecules.[53]
  • Petroleum is a name for a group of substances that includes several mixtures of liquid hydrocarbons.[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 in shale formations and has been trapped in these formations for millions of years.[57]
  • Proppants are small, granular materials added to frack 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 is natural gas that is found in shale plays.[60]
  • Shale plays are areas where given types of hydrocarbons accumulate.[61][62]
  • Slick water frac is any water used in shales that does not contain high levels of gelling agents and uses friction reducers.[63]
  • A slurry is any mixture of water with insoluble matter.[64] Slurries are often used in the same way as frack 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 in fracking 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]
  • A wellbore 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

A coal power plant near Flint Hills, Kansas

Energy agencies

Transmission lines at sunset

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Abandoned Mine Drainage,” accessed January 30, 2014
  2. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, B” accessed January 29, 2014
  3. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, B” accessed January 29, 2014
  4. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Glossary, C," accessed November 18, 2014
  5. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Climate Change Glossary, C," accessed November 17, 2014
  6. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, C” accessed January 29, 2014
  7. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey, "Coal-Bed Methane: Potential and Concerns," October 2000
  8. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, C” accessed January 24, 2014
  9. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, C” accessed January 29, 2014
  10. ↑ Analysis Group, “Siting Energy Facilities in New England: What, Why, Where, and How,” accessed February 3, 2014
  11. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Biofuels: Ethanol and Biofuel Explained," accessed February 4, 2014
  12. ↑ Wisconsin State Energy Office, “A Renewable Energy and Bioeconomy Dictionary,” accessed January 30, 2014
  13. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, G,” accessed January 29, 2014
  14. ↑ TIME Magazine, "What Is a Green-Collar Job, Exactly?" May 26, 2008
  15. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Glossary, G," accessed November 17, 2014
  16. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, H” accessed January 29, 2014
  17. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, H” accessed January 29, 2014
  18. ↑ Investopedia, "Mcf," accessed August 5, 2014
  19. ↑ Northwest Power and Conservation Council, “Megawatt,” accessed January 30, 2014
  20. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, M” accessed January 28, 2014
  21. ↑ Union of Concerned Scientists, “How is Electricity Measured,” accessed January 30, 2014
  22. ↑ Northwest Power and Conservation Council, “Megawatt,” accessed January 30, 2014
  23. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, M” accessed January 28, 2014
  24. ↑ Energy in Depth, "What is Methane?" accessed April 11, 2014
  25. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, M” accessed January 28, 2014
  26. ↑ Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency, "Glossary," accessed October 22, 2014
  27. ↑ Department of Energy, "The History of Nuclear Energy," accessed March 13, 2014
  28. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Climate change glossary, O," accessed November 26, 2014
  29. ↑ State of Washington, Department of Ecology, “The Public Trust Doctrine,” accessed January 29, 2014
  30. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, R” accessed January 29, 2014
  31. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, S” accessed January 29, 2014
  32. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, N” accessed January 29, 2014
  33. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, W” accessed January 29, 2014
  34. ↑ Schlumberger, "Oilfield Glossary," accessed April 24, 2014
  35. ↑ United States Geological Survey, “BTEX,” accessed January 23, 2014
  36. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, D” accessed January 24, 2014
  37. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, H” accessed January 24, 2014
  38. ↑ The Institute for Energy & Environmental Research for Northeastern Pennsylvania, “What is flowback and how does it differ from produced water?” accessed January 27, 2014
  39. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey, “Silica Statistics and Information,” accessed January 23, 2014
  40. ↑ ALL Consulting, Hydraulic Fracture Considerations for Natural Gas Wells of the Marcellus Shale,” accessed January 28, 2014
  41. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Energy in Brief,” accessed January 28, 2014
  42. ↑ American Association of Petroleum Geologists, “Guessing gone for geologists, Geosteering Keeps Drillers On The Right Track,” accessed January 27, 2014
  43. ↑ NaturalGas.org, “Directional and Horizontal Drilling,” accessed January 28, 2014
  44. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, H” accessed January 29, 2014
  45. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, L” accessed January 28, 2014
  46. ↑ Geology.com, “Mineral Rights,” accessed January 29, 2014
  47. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, N” accessed January 29, 2014
  48. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, N” accessed January 28, 2014
  49. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "The Basics of Underground Natural Gas Storage," August 2004
  50. ↑ 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
  51. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, O” accessed January 29, 2014
  52. ↑ “U.S. Geological Survey”, “Energy Resource Program, Oil Shale,” accessed January 29, 2014
  53. ↑ Elmhurst College, “Oil to Petrochemicals,” accessed January 27, 2014
  54. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, P” accessed January 29, 2014
  55. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey, "Organic Origins of Petroleum," December 5, 2013
  56. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey, "The Total Petroleum System--The Natural Fluid Network That Constrains the Assessment Unit," 2000
  57. ↑ The Institute for Energy & Environmental Research for Northeastern Pennsylvania, “What is flowback and how does it differ from produced water?” accessed January 27, 2014
  58. ↑ Frack Wire, “What is Fracking,” accessed January 28, 2014
  59. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Energy in Brief,” accessed January 28, 2014
  60. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Energy in Brief,” accessed January 28, 2014
  61. ↑ Schlumberger, "Oilfield Glossary," accessed March 18, 2014
  62. ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Energy in Brief,” accessed January 28, 2014
  63. ↑ 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
  64. ↑ Merriam Webster, “slurry,” accessed January 29, 2014
  65. ↑ Argonne National Laboratory, “Fact Sheet - Slurry Injection of Drilling Waste,” accessed January 29, 2014
  66. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Class I Slurry Injection,” February 26, 1998
  67. ↑ Union Pasific Distribution Services, “How Transloading Works,” accessed January 28, 2014
  68. ↑ TransLoading.org, “Railcar Transloading,” accessed January 28, 2014
  69. ↑ 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
  70. ↑ FrackWire, “Drilling technology,” accessed January 29, 2014
  71. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Glossary,” accessed January 24. 2=14
  72. ↑ Investopedia, “Wellbore,” accessed January 30, 2014
  73. ↑ Congressional Budget Office, "H.R. 2464 - Cost Estimate," June 5, 2009
  74. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Clean Air Act Requirements and History," accessed August 7, 2014
  75. ↑ 75.0 75.1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Understanding the Clean Air Act," accessed August 7, 2014 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "history" defined multiple times with different content
  76. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "History of the Clean Air Act," accessed August 7, 2014
  77. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Summary of the Clean Water Act,” accessed January 29, 2014
  78. ↑ 78.0 78.1 78.2 78.3 78.4 78.5 American Institute of Physics, "Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduce Critical Minerals Legislation," December 6, 2013 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "about" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "about" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "about" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "about" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "about" defined multiple times with different content
  79. ↑ 79.0 79.1 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "Endangered Species Act - Overview," accessed August 13, 2014 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "overview" defined multiple times with different content
  80. ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 as Amended," accessed August 20, 2014
  81. ↑ Danver, S.L. (2013). Encyclopedia of Politics of the American West. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Reference/CQ Press.
  82. ↑ Congressional Research Service, "Issue Brief for Congress: Mining on Federal Lands," updated June 11, 2002
  83. ↑ The Library of Congress, "Congressional Globe: Debates and Proceedings, 1833-1873," accessed August 14, 2014
  84. ↑ National League of Cities, "Local Government Authority," accessed July 16, 2015
  85. ↑ United States House of Representatives, "Mineral Leasing Act (and Supplementary Laws)," updated January 15, 2014
  86. ↑ Center of the American West, "Mineral Leasing Act," accessed August 21, 2014
  87. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Summary of the Noise Control Act," accessed August 27, 2014
  88. ↑ National Renewable Energy Laboratory, “State & Local Activities,” accessed January 30, 2014
  89. ↑ Center for Public Policy and Administration, The University of Utah, "Coal Severance Tax," August 30, 2006
  90. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Our Mission and What We Do," accessed March 14, 2014

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Terms

Abandoned mine drainage • Biofuels • Biomass • BTEX • Clean Air Act • Clean Water Act • Coal • Coalbed methane • Compressed natural gas • Crude oil • Directional drilling • Directional well • Electrical grid • Energy siting • Ethanol • Flare • Flowback • Frac sand • Frack fluid • Fracking • Geosteering • Geothermal energy • Horizontal drilling • Hydrocarbons • Hydroelectric energy • Liquid Petroleum Gases • Megawatt • Megawatt hour • Methane • Mineral rights • Natural gas • Natural gas liquids • Natural gas storage • Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials • Nuclear power • Oil shale • Petrochemicals • Petroleum • Petroleum systems • Produced water • Proppants • Public Trust Doctrine • Renewable energy resources • Renewable Portfolio Standards • Seismicity • Shale gas • Shale play • Slick water frac • Slurry • Solar energy • Traditional energy resources • Vertical drilling • Volatile organic compounds • Wellbore • Wind energy

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