Wind Energy Glossary
Glossary Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Modified Accelerated Cost-Recovery System (MACRS) | Businesses can recover investments in certain property through depreciation deductions. The MACRS establishes a set of class lives for various types of property, ranging from three to 50 years, over which the property may be depreciated. For solar, wind, and geothermal property placed in service after 1986, the current MACRS property class is five years. |
| Multiplier Effect | The term “multiplier effect” as it pertains to the local economy and wind project development describes how increased spending in one part of a economy starts a chain reaction that results in an overall increase in economic activity. |
| Municipal Utility ("Muni") | A utility owned by a city to supply utility services to residents in that city. Generally, surpluses in revenues or over-expenditures are contributed to the city budget. |
| Municipal Wind Power | Wind energy projects developed by small political subdivisions of cities and townships, rural electrification cooperatives, and other municipal or quasi-municipal entities or municipally owned corporations that provide electric transmission, distribution or generation services. |
| Nameplate Capacity | The maximum output rating of a wind generator. A wind turbine that has a 1 MW nameplate capacity will produce 1 MW of power when operating at it’s rated output. |
| Net Metering and Net Billing | The concept of net metering programs is to allow utility customers to generate their own electricity from renewable resources, such as small wind turbines and solar electric systems. The customers send excess electricity back to the utility when their wind system, for example, produces more power than they need. |
| Net Present Value | A common financial concept (and a critical component of Minnesota’s C-BED tariff), reflecting the idea that having a given amount of money today is more valuable than receiving the same amount of money in the future. C-BED requires utilities to determine the net present value of their rate schedule using the standard discount factor that they apply to their other business decisions. |
| Network Resource | An electrical generator that can provide support to the system in terms of real or reactive power supply, spinning reserve, or other services that the system operator requires to keep the system operating in a safe and reliable manner. Generally wind projects can only qualify as an energy resource because of their non-dispatchable nature, i.e. |
| Noise | Wind turbine noise and associated impacts are some of the more important issues facing local authorities in permitting wind projects. Regulations in this category generally refer to a decibel measurement of the sound emissions from a turbine, and increasingly local authorities are asked to consider the concerns of the community in setting these regulations. |
| Non-Utility Generator (NUG) | A generator that is owned and operated by an entity which is not a regulated electric utility. |
| O&M (Operations and Maintenance) Agreement | The contract for operating and maintaining a project which defined terms, fees, schedules, and other details. |
| Off-Peak Power | Electricity supplied during periods of low system demand. |
| Off-Taker | The purchaser of the electricity from a wind project, for example: a utility company. |
| Pad Mount Transformer | A electric transformer that is mounted on the ground as opposed to a pole mounted transformer. A pole mounted transformer is mounted on a pole that holds electric power lines. |
| Pass-Through Entity | A business structure that allows tax credits and operating gains and losses to be allocated to the owners of the business rather than the business itself, which prevents the income of the business from being taxed twice. |
| Passive Income | Certain types of income, as defined by the IRS, such as rental income or income from businesses, in which the earner serves only as an investor and is not actively engaged in running the investment as defined by the IRS. See Passive Tax Appetite. |
| Passive Tax Appetite | Income from certain types of investments qualifies as passive income. Tax paid on this income is considered passive tax. To take advantage of the Federal Production Tax Credit (the PTC) and Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS), you or a project partner must be paying taxes that fit into this category of tax liability. |
| Payments-In-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILOT) | Negotiated payments between the local taxing authority and a wind project. These payments compensate for excessive use of infrastructure in the area while developing the project and allow the local community to benefit from wind energy development. |
| Peak Demand | The greatest demand placed on an electric system; measured in kilowatts or megawatts; also, the time of day or season of the year when that demand occurs. |
| Peak Load | The amount of electric power required by a consumer or a system during peak demand; measured in kilowatts or megawatts. |
| Permits Required | Most, if not all, county permits for wind energy conversion systems are conditional use permits. Often the permitting authority will establish threshold requirements, as seen with the ordinances in the County Wind Ordinance Survey. |
| Plat Drawings | A map showing politically defined sections and townships that shows who holds the deed to the parcels of land contained within. |
| Power Curve | The instantaneous power output of a specific turbine design at various wind speeds. Used with wind resource data to determine the potential for electricity generation at a project site. |
| Power Purchase Agreement | The contract to buy the electricity generated by a power plant. Securing a good PPA is often one of the most challenging elements of wind project development. |
| Pro forma | Comprehensive financial analysis of a business or project. |
