13. Energy and the Economy Flashcards
Rural electrification
bringing electricity to rural impoverished areas
Urbanization
urban expansion; will lead to a loss of an estimated 2 million hectares per year with ¾ being agricultural land – encroaching on cropland; also drives demand for resources
Energy budget share
percentage of total budget spent on energy
Diesel Genset
combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of engine-generator. A diesel compression-ignition engine often is designed to run on fuel oil, but some types are adapted for other liquid fuels or natural gas.
Micro-grid
A microgrid is a small-scale power grid that can operate independently or in conjunction with the area’s main electrical grid. Any small-scale localized station with its own power resources, generation and loads and definable boundaries qualifies as a microgrid. Microgrids can be intended as back-up power or to bolster the main power grid during periods of heavy demand. Often, microgrids involve multiple energy sources as a way of incorporating renewable power. Other purposes include reducing costs and enhancing reliability.
Leapfrogging
theory of sustainable development which may accelerate development by skipping inferior, less efficient, more expensive, or more pollutive tech and industries and move directly to better efficient ones
Bio-char
Biochar is a solid material obtained from the carbonisation of biomass. Biochar may be added to soils with the intention to improve soil functions and to reduce emissions from biomass that would otherwise naturally degrade to greenhouse gases. Biochar also has appreciable carbon sequestration value. These properties are measurable and verifiable in a characterisation scheme, or in a carbon emission offset protocol.
Microfinance
financial services to low-income individuals or to those who do not have access to typical banking services. An innovative financing mechanism for renewable energy tech in developing countries.
Energy intensity
units of energy per units of GDP
Small geothermal
for grid electricity and large-scale heating; can be used in urban and rural settings; below 5 MW; Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. It’s clean and sustainable. Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth’s surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma.
Stove efficiency
Compared to simple open fires, enclosed stoves can offer greater efficiency and control. In free air, solid fuels burn at a temperature of only about 240 °C (464 °F), which is too low a temperature for perfect combustion reactions to occur, heat produced through convection is largely lost, smoke particles are evolved without being fully burned and the supply of combustion air cannot be readily controlled.
