APES Renewable Energy Vocab

hydrogen cell

A device used to react hydrogen with oxygen in order to produce energy and water

turbine

A device with blades that can be turned by water, wind, steam, or exhaust gas from combustion that turns a generator in an electricity-producing plant

Biodiesel

A diesel substitute produced by extracting and chemically altering oil from plants

CAFE standards

Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards enacted into law in 1975, established fuel efficiency standards for passenger cars and light trucks. The fuel economy ratings for a manufacturer's entire line of passenger cars must currently average at least 27.5 mpg for the manufacturer to comply with the standard.

hydroelectric power

Electricity generated by flowing water

geothermal energy

Energy from steam or hot water produced from hot or molten underground rocks.

Parabolic Solar (STEC)

It focuses on the sun on a central tube containing a heat absorbing fluid. (curved solar panel that goes straight to hot water)

biofuel

Liquid fuel created from processed or refined biomass

conservation

Protecting and preserving natural resources and the environment

Photovoltaic Solar

Solar PV cells convert sunlight directly into electricity. This process of converting light (photons) to electricity (voltage) is called the photovoltaic (PV) effect.

passive solar energy

Solar energy systems that collect energy without the use of mechanical devices

ocean tides

The rise and fall of the ocean caused by the gravitational force of the moon and sun

Tidal

a form of hydropower that converts the energy obtained from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity.

fish ladder

a series of ascending pools providing a passage for salmon to swim upstream past a dam

Central tower solar

a type of solar furnace using a tower to receive the focused sunlight. It uses an array of flat, movable mirrors (called heliostats) to focus the sun's rays upon a collector tower (the target).

Fuel Cells

an electrochemical cell that converts the potential energy from a fuel into electricity through an electrochemical reaction of hydrogen fuel with oxygen or another oxidizing agent.

wind farm

area where many windmills use wind to generate electricity

intermittency

characteristic of energy sources that convert intermittent flows, such as solar or wind, and thus do not produce constant or precisely predictable flows of power without a storage device of some kind

primary energy

energy contained in natural resources (coal, oil, sunlight, wind, uranium)

active solar energy

solar radiation captured with photovoltaic cells that convert light energy to electrical energy

Biomass

total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level

Efficiency

using resources in such a way as to maximize the production of goods and services

secondary energy

when primary energy is converted into another form (electricity)