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Energy Terms | |
| Glossary of Energy Terms | |
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| Term | Definition | |
| National Renewable Energy Laboratory | The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located in Golden, Colorado, as part of the U.S. Department of Energy, is the United States's primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. Established in 1974, NREL began operating in 1977 as the Solar Energy Research Institute. It was designated a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in September 1991 and its name changed to NREL. NREL is the principal research laboratory for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy which provides the majority of its funding. Other funding comes from DOE's Office of Science and Office of Electricity Transmission and Distribution. One of the programs of the NREL is the Tribal Energy Program, the goal of which is to promote tribal energy self-sufficiency and foster employment and economic development on tribal lands through the development of renewable energy. The Program provides financial and technical assistance to tribes for feasibility studies and shares the cost of implementing sustainable renewable energy installations on tribal lands. | |
| Natural Gas | Underground deposits of gases consisting of 50 to 90 percent methane (CH4) and small amounts of heavier gaseous hydrocarbon compounds such as propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10). | |
| Nuclear Energy | Nuclear energy originates from the splitting of uranium atoms in a process
called fission. At the power plant, the fission process is used to generate
heat for producing steam, which is used by a turbine to generate electricity.
Because nuclear power plants do not burn fuel, they do not emit air pollutant
emissions. All of the nuclear power plants in the United States collectively
produce about 2,000 metric tons per year of radioactive waste. Abandoned
uranium mines contaminated with high-level radioactive waste can continue
to pose radioactive risks for as long as 250,000 years after closure.
There are more than 60 nuclear power plants currently in operation in
the U.S., which accounts for approximately 20 percent of the country’s
electricity production. No nuclear power plants have been built since
1996, mostly due to economic factors and environmental concerns. | |
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