Glossary of Sustainability Terms

 

Biomass energy– a type of renewable energy generated by burning wood, agricultural waste, fuel crops, sewage sludge, manure or methane from landfills.

 

Cap and trade –a two-part regulatory system in which the “cap” is a government-imposed limit on carbon emissions, and the “trade” is a government-created market to buy and sell greenhouse gas credits. Companies that generate less than the allowed emissions can sell credits allowing others to emit more gases than the cap allows.

 

Carbon offsets – purchasing greenhouse gas reduction credits from a project elsewhere to neutralize the impact of one's own emissions.

 

Carbon sequestration – the removal and storage of carbon from the atmosphere in carbon sinks (such as oceans, forests or soils) through physical or biological processes, such as photosynthesis.

 

Carbon capture and storage – an artificial form of sequestration that prevents carbon emissions by capturing the gases and either chemically changing them or diverting them underground or in deep ocean water.

 
Compact fluorescent light bulb – a fluorescent light that has the same shape as an incandescent bulb but is four times more efficient and can last up to 10 times longer.

 

Digester gas –a by-product of anaerobic decomposition during waste water treatment. Instead of burning off the gas byproducts as a flare, it can be combusted in a turbine or piston engine to create electricity.

 

Energy Master Plan (EMP) - New Jersey is statutorily required to develop an EMP every 10 years and to update it every three years. The most recent Energy Master Plan was published in 1991 and updated in 1995 in response to the introduction of wholesale competitive electricity markets in the region.  Gov. Jon S. Corzine is expected to release a new EMP in fall 2007 aimed at: meeting 20 percent of the State’s electricity demand renewable sources by 2020; stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels by 2020; and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 2006 levels by 2050.

 

Fossil fuels -- including coal, petroleum, and natural gas, can be burned to provide heat that can be used directly, as in home heating, or to produce electricity.. They all contain carbon formed through geologic processes over hundreds of millions of years.

 

Geothermal power – uses heat from below the earth’s surface to generate electricity with virtually no emissions. Geothermal power plants use subterranean steam or hot water to turn turbines that produce electricity. Geothermal heat pumps are used to heat or cool individual buildings by moving the air through pipes buried in shallow ground where the temperature remains relatively constant.

 

Global Warming –an increase in the average temperature of the lower atmosphere resulting in climate change.  While it can have many different causes, global warming is most commonly associated with human activities that result in the emission of greenhouse gases.

 

Greenhouse gases – a gas, such as carbon dioxide, methane and ozone, that traps the sun's heat and contributes to global warming. Burning fossil fuels emits greenhouse gases.

 

Hydrogen cell – an energy conversion device that can efficiently capture and use hydrogen to generate pollution-free power for a variety of applications.

 

LEEDS - The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings.

 

Light emitting diodes (LED) – highly energy-efficient devices that work by semiconductor rather than heat generation to provide light for up to 35,000 hours or more.

 

Methane to electricity – Instead of burning off the gas that accumulates in capped solid waste landfills, the gas is piped into a combustion generator to produce electricity.

 

Micro hydro – small-scale hydroelectric technologies installed into rivers without disturbing the flow or adversely impacting fish or other aquatic life.

 

NJBPU – New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the regulatory authority that oversees the state’s utility services The Board addresses issues of consumer protection, energy reform, deregulation of energy services and the restructuring of utility rates to encourage energy conservation and competitive pricing in the industry.

 
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) –-the first mandatory U.S. cap-and-trade program for carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, established in 2005 by the governors of seven Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states:. Currently the ten member states are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont. The program began by capping emissions at current levels in 2009, and then will reduce emissions 10% by 2019.

Segregated waste to energy – generates electricity by burning non-toxic municipal waste such as paper, wood, pallets, tree and lawn trimmings.

 

Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECS) SRECS are earned by owners of non-rebated solar projects in New Jersey. An SREC is credited to an owner each time his/her system generates 1,000 kWh of electricy and can be sold to electricity suppliers in a competitive market.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy – direct conversion of sunlight to electricity, producing no emissions.  PV panels contain semiconductors such as silicon that collect and absorb solar energy, producing direct current (DC) electricity. An inverter device is used to convert the DC current into alternating current (AC) electricity.

 

SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Credits) SRECS are earned by owners of non-rebated solar projects in New Jersey. An SREC is credited to an owner each time his/her system generates 1,000 kWh of electricy and can be sold to electricity suppliers in a competitive market.

 

Sustainability – practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

 

Wind energy - Turbines, similar to gigantic windmills, capture and convert the natural power of the wind into electricity without producing any emissions.

 

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