Grid-Connected Renewable Energy Generation Toolkit

A

AC – Alternating current

ADB – Asian Development Bank

Ag – Agriculture

ASEAN – Association of Southeast Asian Nations

AWEA – American Wind Energy Association

B

BIG – Biomass gasifier

BOO – Build, Own and Operate

BOT – Build, Own and Transfer

BTU – British thermal unit (unit of heat)

C

C – Centigrade

CABEI – Central American Bank for Economic Integration

CAN – National water commission of Mexico

CCS – Combined cycle system

CDM – Clean Development Mechanism (part of Kyoto Protocol)

CEPALCO – Cagayan Electric Power Light Company Inc. (Philippines)

CER – Certified Emission Reduction

CF – Capacity factor

CHP – Combined heat and power

CO₂ – Carbon dioxide (CO₂e – carbon dioxide equivalent)

COC – Carbon Offset Credits

CPV – Concentrating photovoltaics

CSP – Concentrating solar power

D

DC – Direct Current

DOE – US Department of Energy (or USDOE)

E

EE – Energy efficiency

EGS – Enhanced geothermal systems

EIA – US Energy Information Agency

EJ – Exajoules (a measure of energy)

EPC – Engineering, Procurement and Construction (contract for a project)

EPRI – Electric Power Research Institute (US)

EU – European Union

EWEA – European Wind Energy Association

F

F – Fahrenheit

FBS – Fluidized bed combustor system

FERC – US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

FIT – Feed-in tariff

G

GEF – Global Environmental Facility (part of the World Bank)

GHG – Greenhouse gas

GIS – Geographic Information Service

GT – Gas turbine

GVW – Gross vehicle weight

GW – Gigawatt (one billion watts, or one thousand megawatts or one million kilowatts)

GWh – Gigawatt hour

GWEC – Global Wind Energy Council

H

I

IC – Installed capacity

ICE – Costa Rican government utility

IDB – Inter-American Development Bank

IDC – Interest on capital during construction

IEA – International Energy Agency

IFC – International Finance Corporation (affiliated with the World Bank)

IEEE – Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

IGCC – Integrated gasification combined cycle

IPP – Independent power producer

IPR – Intellectual property rights

IRR – Internal rate of return

ISCCS – Integrated solar combined cycle system

ISO – International Standards Organization

ITC – Investment tax credit

J

K

kg – Kilograms

km – Kilometer (km² – square kilometer)

kW – Kilowatt (one thousand watts)

kWh – Kilowatt hour

L

lb – Pound

LBNL – Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US federal laboratory)

LFG – Land-fill gas

LLC – Limited Liability Company (US)

M

M – Million

m – Meter

m² – Square meter (m³ – cubic meter)

m/s – Meter per second

MACRS – Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (US)

MAE – Mean annual energy

MIRR – Modified internal rate of return

MNES – Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources (India)

MP – Mean power output

MRC – Mekong River Commission

MSW – Municipal solid waste

MW – Megawatt (One million watts, or one thousand kilowatts)

MWe – Megawatt electric (as opposed to MWth – megawatt thermal – most often used as clarification when comparing technologies that could be measured either way)

MWh – Megawatt hour

N

NA – Not Applicable (does not apply to this example)

NASA – US National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA/SSE – NASA Surface Meterology and Solar Energy (satellite data)

NFFO – UK Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation

NG – Natural gas

NGO – Non-governmental organization

NO_x – Oxides of nitrogen

NREL – US National Renewable Energy Laboratory

O

OECD – Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

O&M – Operation and maintenance

ORC – Organic Rankine cycle

P

PBF – Public Benefits Fund (also sometimes called PGC – Public Goods Charge)

PG&E – Pacific Gas and Electric (California utility)

PMF – Probable maximum flood

PPA – Power purchase agreement

Proinf – Brazil Incentive Program for Alternative Electric Generation

PURPA – Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (US)

PTC – Production tax credit

PV – Photovoltaic

Q

R

R&D – Research and Development

RD&D – Research, Development and Demonstration

RE – Renewable energy

REC – Renewable Energy Certificate or Credit (the same as a TREC)

REN21 – Renewable Energy Network for the 21^st Century

RES – Renewable energy standard

RO – UK Renewable Energy Obligation

ROCS – UK Renewable Energy Obligation Credits

RPS – Renewable Portfolio Standard

S

SCE – Southern California Edison (California electric utility)

SIDS – Small Island Developing States

SO_x – Sulfur oxides

SRC and DeNO_x – Selective catalytic reduction devices

T

TBM – Tunnel boring machine

TES – Thermal energy storage

TREC – Tradable Renewable Energy Certificates/Credits (also sometimes referred to as REC)

TW – Terawatt (one trillion watts, one thousand megawatts, or one billion kilowatts)

TWh – Terawatt hour

U

UNDP – United Nations Development Programme

UNEP – United Nations Environmental Programme

UNFCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

USAID – US Agency for International Development

USDA – US Department of Agriculture

V

W

W – Watt

WB – World Bank

WWTP – Waste Water Treatment Plants

X

Y

Z