Copy of `Mass Energy - Renewable terms`

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Mass Energy - Renewable terms Category: Agriculture and Industry > Renewable terms Date & country: 26/02/2017, USA Words: 19

Transmission
The transport of electricity from the electricity generating facilities across high voltage lines to your local network of lower-voltage electricity distribution wires.

Small Hydroelectric
Electricity produced from the movement of water, such as the flow of rivers. `Small` hydroelectric facilities are those which are under 30 MW in size. Small hydroelectric facilities are generally considered to have lower environmental impacts than their larger counterparts.

Renewable Energy Certificate
(REC) See also `Green Attributes`

Restructuring
Sometimes called `deregulation,` this describes the transition from utilities playing a monopolistic role (controlling all aspects of electricity supply and delivery), to a state in which other companies can participate in the market for generating and supplying electricity. After a region’s electric industry is restructured, electric services are separated into generation, transmission and distribution. You have the ability to choose the generation provider of your electric service. Whether you choose a competitive supplier or not, your current electric utility will continue to be responsible for the delivery of your electricity.

Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Charges
Fees that pay for programs to help you lower your electricity bills and reduce the environmental impacts of your energy use. (In Massachusetts and Rhode Island, these charges currently amount to less than $0.50/month for the average household.) The Renewable Energy charge is levied on all customers served by a major electric utility, and is separate from any New England GreenStart or New England Wind charges.

Landfill Gas
`Municipal solid waste contains significant portions of organic materials that produce a variety of gaseous products when dumped, compacted, and covered in landfills. Anaerobic bacteria thrive in the oxygen-free environment, resulting in the decomposition of the organic materials and the production of primarily carbon dioxide and methane. Carbon dioxide is likely to leach out of the landfill because it is soluble in water. Methane, on the other hand, which is less soluble in water and lighter than air, is likely to migrate out of the landfill. Landfill gas energy facilities capture the methane (the principal component of natural gas) and combust it for energy.`

Electric Grid
The network of power shared throughout New England. Generators from all over the region feed power into this grid, and energy is drawn out on an as needed basis. Since our electricity is based on a regional mix, the electricity that is actually delivered to your home is determined by which power generators are located closest to you.

Green Attributes
See also `Renewable Energy Certificates`

Kilowatt
(kW) A measure of power

Kilowatt-hour
(kWh) A measure of your electricity consumption. One kilowatt-hour is equivalent to 1,000 watt hours or running a 100 Watt light bulb for 10 hours. (10 hours*100 Watts = 1 kWh)

Distribution
The transport of electricity by your distribution company across local lines and into your home.

Distribution Company
The company that provides your electric transmission and distribution services. Your distribution company will automatically function as your electricity supplier unless you choose an alternative company. It is your distribution company that is responsible for maintaining local power lines and restoring your power during outages.

Deregulation
In the electric industry, `deregulation` (also called `restructuring`) describes the transition from utilities playing a monopolistic role (controlling all aspects of electricity supply and delivery), to a state in which other companies can participate in the market for generating and supplying electricity. After a region’s electric industry is restructured, electric services are separated into generation, transmission and distribution. You have the ability to choose the generation provider of your electric service. Whether you choose a competitive supplier or not, your current electric utility will continue to be responsible for the delivery of your electricity. Both Rhode Island and Massachusetts deregulated their electric industries in 1998.

Customer Charge
The fee you pay to receive service from your distribution company. This charge is fixed, regardless of the energy you consume in that month.

Certificate-based
A product where the Green Attributes, or characteristics, are sold independently from the energy commodity (in the form of Renewable Energy Certificates, or RECs).

Cow power
We sometimes refer to anaerobic digesters that use cow manure as their primary feedstock as cow power Anaerobic bacteria thrive in the oxygen-free environment, resulting in the decomposition of the organic materials in cow manure and the production of primarily carbon dioxide and methane. So rather than escaping into the atmosphere as a harmful greenhouse gas, the methane is captured and combusted for energy .

Bundled Renewable Electricity Product
A product where the energy commodity (the electricity itself) and the Green Attributes (in the form of Renewable Energy Certificates, or RECs) are matched together and sold as one unit.

Basic Service
You are receiving basic service for your electricity if you have not elected to have a third-party supplier. This means that your electric distribution company is also providing your energy.

Biomass
Energy produced from naturally replenishable resources such as plant matter, agricultural and forestry waste, and landfill gas. The only `biomass` resources that New England GreenStart members support are landfill gas from Chicopee, MA and an anaerobic digester in Rutland, MA that uses cow manure as its primary feedstock. See `Cow Power` for more.