Chapter 16

Question 1

Feed-in tariff system

Answer 1

utilities must buy electricity from anyone who can produce it from renewable sources

Question 2

Green-collar jobs

Answer 2

jobs in design, installation, and maintenance for the shift to renewable energy

Question 3

Solar energy

Answer 3

energy from the sun (enough is received each day to power human consumption for 25 years)

Question 4

Passive solar energy collection

Answer 4

designing buildings to maximize sunlight absorption in winter and keep the interior cool in summer

Question 5

Thermal mass

Answer 5

materials that absorb, store, and slowly release heat

Question 6

Active solar energy collection

Answer 6

uses devices to focus/move/store solar energy

Question 7

Flat plate solar collectors

Answer 7

dark, heat-absorbing metal plates in flat glass boxes that absorb solar heat from the roof and transfer it to hot water tanks inside

Question 8

Concentrated solar power (CSP)

Answer 8

gathers solar energy from a large area and focuses it to a single point

Question 9

Solar cookers

Answer 9

portable ovens that use reflectors to focus sunlight and cook food

Question 10

Photovoltaic (PV) cells

Answer 10

convert sunlight to electrical energy by transferring electrons across silicon plates

Question 11

Thin-film solar cells

Answer 11

variation of PV technology where photovoltaic materials are compressed into ultra-thin sheets, less efficient but cheaper

Question 12

Net metering

Answer 12

value of excess power a consumer provides is subtracted from the monthly utility bill

Question 13

Intermittent resource (solar power)

Answer 13

daily/seasonal variations in sunlight prevent a consistent energy supply without storage capacity

Question 14

Wind power

Answer 14

generated by movement of air from differentially heated air masses

Question 15

Wind turbines

Answer 15

convert mechanical energy of wind into electrical energy

Question 16

Nacelle

Answer 16

holds machinery that rotates when wind turns rotor blades

Question 17

Wind farm

Answer 17

group of turbines

Question 18

Geothermal energy

Answer 18

thermal energy from beneath the Earth’s surface, which manifests itself in certain areas at the surface

Question 19

Ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs)

Answer 19

transfer heat from the ground into buildings in winter, then back into the ground in summer

Question 20

Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS)

Answer 20

pump cold water into dry underground rock, allow its heating, then draw it back up to generate power

Question 21

Tidal energy

Answer 21

energy from large differences in height between high and low tide

Question 22

Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)

Answer 22

experimental approach that uses temperature gradient in the ocean (which absorbs much heat at the surface) to generate power

Question 23

Hydroelectric power/hydropower

Answer 23

generates electricity by turning turbines with the kinetic energy of flowing river water

Question 24

Storage technique

Answer 24

stores and releases water through turbines in a dam for hydroelectric power

Question 25

Run-of-river technique

Answer 25

diverts some river water through a pipe/channel, passes it through a powerhouse, and returns it to the river for hydroelectric power

Question 26

Pumped storage hydropower

Answer 26

transports water from a lower to a higher reservoir when demand for power is weak and prices are low; allows water to flow back downhill through a turbine when demand increases again

Question 27

Bioenergy

Answer 27

energy derived from biomass

Question 28

Biomass

Answer 28

organic material from living/recently living organisms, which contains chemical energy from sunlight and photosynthesis

Question 29

Biopower

Answer 29

biomass used to generate electricity

Question 30

Co-firing

Answer 30

wood chips/pellets are combined with coal

Question 31

Gasification

Answer 31

power plants vaporize biomass at high temperatures to spin turbines

Question 32

Pyrolysis

Answer 32

produces a liquid biopower fuel that can be burned to generate electricity

Question 33

Biofuels

Answer 33

liquid fuels produced from biomass that power automobiles

Question 34

Ethanol

Answer 34

produced by fermented biomass (typically carbohydrate-rich crops) in a process like brewing beer

Question 35

Biodiesel

Answer 35

fuel from vegetable oil/used cooking grease/animal fat

Question 36

Cellulosic ethanol

Answer 36

ethanol from cellulose, which is found in all plant material and has no food value, and can be produced rapidly from native plants

Question 37

Fuel cells

Answer 37

use hydrogen as a stored power source

Question 38

Electrolysis

Answer 38

process that uses electricity to split water molecules into hydrogen/oxygen gas molecules (2H2O --> 2H2 + O2)