Chapter 21 - New Renewable Energy Alternatives

Question 1

feed-in tarrif

Answer 1

a program of public policy intended to promote renewable energy investment, whereby utilities are mandated to purchase electricity from homeowners or businesses that generate power from renewable energy sources and feed it to the electric grid, under such a system, utilities must pay guaranteed premium prices for this power under long term contract

Question 2

green-collar jobs

Answer 2

jobs resulting from new employment opportunities in a mare sustainably oriented economy, such as jobs in renewable energy

Question 3

solar energy

Answer 3

energy from the sun. it is perpetually renewable and can be harnessed in several different ways

Question 4

passive solar energy collection

Answer 4

an approach in which buildings are designed and building materials to maximize their direct absorption of solar energy in the winter and to keep the interior cool in the summer

Question 5

active solar energy collection

Answer 5

an approach in which technologies developments are used to focus, move, or store solar energy.

Question 6

concentrated solar power (CSP)

Answer 6

a means of generating electricity at a large scale by focusing sunlight from a large area onto a smaller area, several approaches are used for this

Question 7

photovoltaic (PV) cell

Answer 7

a device designed to collect sunlight and directly convert it to electrical enerny by making use of the photoelectric effect

Question 8

thin-film solar cells

Answer 8

photovoltaic materials compressed into ultra-thin lightweight sheets that may be incorporated into various surfaces to produce photovoltaic solar power

Question 9

net metering

Answer 9

process by which homeowners or businesses with photovoltaic systems or wind turbines can sell their excess wind or solar energy to the local utility. whereas feed in tariffs award producers with above market rated, net metering offers market-rate prices

Question 10

wind power

Answer 10

a source of renewable energy, in which kinetic energy from the passage of wind through wind turbines is used to generate electricity

Question 11

wind turbine

Answer 11

a mechanical assembly that converts the winds kinetic energy, or energy of motion, into electric energy

Question 12

wind farm

Answer 12

a development involving a group of wind turbines

Question 13

geothermal energy

Answer 13

energy that arises from beneath the Earth’s surface, ultimately from the radioactive decay of elements amid high pressures deep underground. can be used to generate electrical power in power plants by direct heating via piped water, or in ground-source heat pumps

Question 14

enhanced geothermal systems (EGS)

Answer 14

a new approach whereby engineers drill deeply into rock, fracture it, pump water into it, and then pump it out once the water is heated below the ground. this approach would enable us to obtain geothermal energy in many locations

Question 15

ground-source heat pump

Answer 15

a pump that harnesses geothermal energy from near- surface sources of earth and water, in order to heat and cool buildings, operates on the principle that temperatures below the ground are more stable than temperatures above the ground

Question 16

wave energy

Answer 16

energy harnessed from the motion of ocean waves. many designs for machinery to harness wave energy have been invented, but few have been adequately tested

Question 17

tidal energy

Answer 17

energy harnessed by erecting a dam across the outlet of a tidal basin. water flowing with the incoming or outgoing tide through sluices in the dam turns turbines to generate electricity

Question 18

ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)

Answer 18

a potential energy source that involves harnessing the solar radiation absorbed by tropical ocean water