energy cropA crop grown specifically for its fuel value. These include food crops such as corn and sugar cane, and nonfood crops such as poplar trees and switchgrass.
Energy CropsCrops grown specifically for their fuel value. These include food crops such as corn and sugarcane, and nonfood crops such as poplar trees and switchgrass.
Energy DensityThe amount of energy per unit volume. The energy density affects, and is affected by, the expansion or contraction of the universe.
Energy EfficiencyUsing less energy to achieve the same outcome. For example, better insulation would enable a home to stay warm utilizing less energy.
Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER)The measure of the instantaneous energy efficiency of room air conditioners; the cooling capacity in Btu/hr divided by the watts of power consumed at a…
Energy Efficient MortgagesA type of home mortgage that takes into account the energy savings of a home that has cost-effective energy saving improvements that will reduce energy…
Energy End-Use SectorsMajor energy consuming sectors of the economy. The Commercial Sector includes commercial buildings and private companies.
Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC)In Oregon, a seven-member council that coordinates and approves siting for most large power plants, transmission lines and pipelines.
Energy Factor (EF)The measure of overall efficiency for a variety of appliances. For water heaters, the energy factor is based on three factors: 1) the recovery efficiency…
Energy Guide LabelsThe labels placed on appliances to enable consumers to compare appliance energy efficiency and energy consumption under specified test conditions as…
Energy IntensityThe relative extent that energy is required for a process.
Energy Policy Act of 1992Passed by Congress to enhance U.S. energy security by requiring federal, state, and alternative fuel provider fleets to implement petroleum-reduction…
Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct)A comprehensive legislative package that mandates and encourages energy efficiency standards, alternative fuel use, and the development of renewable…
Energy Security Act of 1980Legislation authorizing a U.S. biomass and alcohol fuel program, and that authorized loan guarantees and price guarantees and purchase agreements for…
Energy Service Company (ESCO)A company that specializes in undertaking energy efficiency measures under a contractual arrangement whereby the ESCO shares the value of energy savings…
Energy StorageThe process of storing, or converting energy from one form to another, for later use; storage devices and systems include batteries, conventional and…
EnthalpyA thermodynamic property of a substance, defined as the sum of its internal energy plus the pressure of the substance times its volume, divided by the…
Entrained Bed GasifierA gasifier in which the feedstock (fuel) is suspended by the movement of gas to move it through the gasifier.
EntrainmentThe incorporation of fish, eggs, larvae, and other plankton with intake water flow entering and passing through a cooling water intake structure and into…
EntropyA measure of the unavailable or unusable energy in a system; energy that cannot be converted to another form.
EntryAn application to acquire title to public lands.
EnvironmentAll the natural and living things around us. The earth, air, weather, plants, and animals all make up our environment.
Environmental Assessment (EA)A public document that analyzes a proposed federal action for the possibility of significant environmental impacts.
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)A comprehensive study of likely environmental impacts resulting from major federally-assisted projects; statements are required by the National…
Environmental JusticeIs based on the principle that all people have a right to be protected from environmental pollution and to live in and enjoy a clean and healthful…
Environmental mediaSoil, water, air, biota, or any other parts of the environment that can contain contaminants.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established as an independent agency on December 2, 1970 during President Nixon's term in office.
Environmental Resource Inventory (ERI)A listing and description of natural resources and general environmental characteristics of a given geographic area.
Enzymatic hydrolysisA process by which enzymes (biological catalysts) are used to break down starch or cellulose into sugar.
enzymeA protein that speeds up chemical reactions in the body.
EolianRefers to the processes of wind erosion, transport, and deposition. For example, sand dunes are landforms produced by eolian processes in arid…
EP ToxicityA test defined by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to check a substance for the presence of arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury…
Ephemeral allotmentA BLM grazing allotment in areas of the Hot Desert Biome (Region) that do not consistently produce enough forage to sustain a livestock operation, but…
Ephemeral streamA stream that flows only after a storm or during snowmelt and whose channel is, at all times, above the water table; groundwater is not a source of water…
Epitaxial GrowthIn reference to solar photovoltaic devices, the growth of one crystal on the surface of another crystal.
EquinoxThe two times of the year when the sun crosses the equator and night and day are of equal length; usually occurs on March 21st (spring equinox) and…
Equity financingProvision of capital through the sale of common or preferred stock to investors.
ERGA unit of work done by the force of one dyne acting through a distance of one centimeter.
ErosionThe wearing away of land surface by wind or water, intensified by land-clearing practices related to farming, residential or industrial development, road…
EruptionThe process by which solid, liquid, and gaseous materials are ejected into the Earth's atmosphere and onto the Earth's surface by volcanic activity.
EscarpmentA cliff or the steep slopes of a plateau edge.
ester(ES-ter) A type of chemical substance that is a combination of acid and alcohol. Esters are found in essential oils (scented liquid taken from plants).
EstuaryA water body where salt and fresh water meet resulting in brackish water. These areas usually have associated marshlands and are critical nursery and…
ethanolCommonly used to disinfect plant tissues, glassware utensils and working surfaces in tissue culture manipulations; to precipitate aqueous solutions of…
Ethnobotany (ethnobotanical)The plant lore and agricultural customs of a people; the study of such lore and customs.
Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETBE)A chemical compound produced in a reaction between ethanol and isobutylene (a petroleum-derived by-product of the refining process).
EutecticA mixture of substances that has a melting point lower than that of any mixture of the same substances in other proportions.
Eutectic SaltsSalt mixtures with potential applications as solar thermal energy storage materials.
EutrophicationThe natural aging process of water bodies, by siltation and organic decomposition, which reduces both water volume and oxygen levels.
Evacuated-Tube CollectorA collector is the mechanism in which fluid (water or diluted antifreeze, for example) is heated by the sun in a solar hot water system.
EvaporationThe conversion of a liquid to a vapor (gas), usually by means of heat.
Evaporation pondsShallow man-made ponds designed to contain liquid effluents and concentrate the residual waste through evaporation.
Evaporation RateIn hydrologic terms, the quantity of water, expressed in terms of depth of liquid water, which is evaporated from a given surface per unit of time.
Evaporative CoolingThe physical process by which a liquid or solid is transformed into the gaseous state.
Evaporator CoilThe inner coil in a heat pump that, during the cooling mode, absorbs heat from the inside air and boils the liquid refrigerant to a vapor, which cools the…
EvapotranspirationThe net water loss (in vapour form) per unit area of land, both directly from the land surface, and indirectly through transpiring leaves.
ExceedanceA measured level of an air pollutant that is higher than the national or state ambient air quality standards. See also NAAQS and CAAQS
Excess annual growthThe amount by which new forest growth exceeds removal in a year. The annual quantity of wood produced in a forest in excess of market demand.
Excessive gradesGround surface inclines relative to the horizon beyond which the ground may become unstable.
ExchangeAn exchange generally occurs when one company acquires another. The shareholders of the acquired company are often given the option to sell their shares…
ExcitationThe power required to energize the magnetic field of a generator.
Executive OrderA president's or governor's declaration which has the force of law, usually based on existing statutory powers, and requiring no action by the Congress or…
Exempt Wholesale GeneratorAn unregulated subsidiary of a power provider that is allowed to generate and sell wholesale power as an independent energy producer, and is exempt from…
ExothermicA reaction or process that produces heat; a combustion reaction.
Expanded PolystyreneA type of insulation that is molded or expanded to produce coarse, closed cells containing air.
Expansion TankA tank used in a closed-loop solar heating system that provides space for the expansion of the heat transfer fluid in the pressurized collector loop.
Expansion ValveThe device that reduces the pressure of liquid refrigerant thereby cooling it before it enters the evaporator coil in a heat pump.
exposureContact of an organism with a chemical, radiological, or physical agent.
External Combustion EngineAn engine in which fuel is burned (or heat is applied) to the outside of a cylinder; a Stirling engine.
ExternalityThe environmental, social, and economic impacts of producing a good or service that are not directly reflected in the market price of the good or service.
ExtirpationThe elimination of a species or subspecies from a particular area, but not from its entire range.
extractivesAny number of different compounds in biomass that are not an integral part of the cellular structure.