Glossary

 AC: Alternate Current; electrical current that continually reverses direction.

Ah: Ampere-hours, a measurement of electrical charge. The amp-hour rating of a battery is the maximum charge that it can hold.

Ammeter: An electrical or electronic device used to measure current flowing in a circuit. The unit of measurement of electrical current is Amperes (Amps), denoted by the symbol A.

Biomass: Biomass refers to organic matter, ie plant and animals. Biomass energy is derived from wood, agricultural and forestry residues or wastes, and industrial, human or animal wastes.

DC: Direct Current; electrical current that flows in one direction only, although it may vary in magnitude.

Diesel genset: Diesel generator, a power supply unit that generates power using diesel as a fuel. The most common power source in remote areas of the Territory.

Emission: Burning fossil fuel is the greatest contributor to the continuing increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Diesel, coal, oil or gas based power systems emit greenhouse gases that adversely affect life, and may lead to climate changes in a long run.

Enabling equipment: Equipment such as batteries, inverters and regulators that enable the power generated from the renewable and other sources to be made available for useful purposes.

Greenhouse gases: Greenhouse gases such as carbondioxide, methane and nitrous oxide trap some of the longer wavelength infrared radiation (heat) that the earth radiates back. This results in warming up of the earth's surface temperature.

Hybrid power system: A power system making use of more than one power resource to generate electricity. A diesel-solar, diesel-wind or a diesel-solar-wind power system are examples of hybrid systems.

Hydro energy: Hydro energy is produced by harnessing the movement of water from rivers and lakes. Dams or weirs enable water to be stored and used as power source to generate electricity. A hydroelectric generator consists of a water turbine to convert the energy of flowing water into mechanical energy, and an electric generator to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy.

Insolation: Incident solar radiation (irradiation),or the level of intensity of energy from the sun that strikes the earth. Usually given as watts per square metre (W/m²). A common peak level in Australia in summer is about 1000W/m².

Inverter: An electronic device that converts DC power into AC power at standard mains voltage (240 V) and frequency (50 Hz). There are different basic types of inverters, including sine wave and modified square-wave inverters. Some inverters incorporate added facilities for automatic operation of diesel system and monitoring.

kW: kilowatt, a measurement unit of power; equal to one thousand watts (w). Watt is a basic unit for power. Note: All electrical appliances will have specific power consumption figures marked on them, eg. a 60 W light globe, a 120 W television, a 1200 W electric cook stove etc.

kWh: kilowatt-hour: Standard unit for measuring energy. Electricity generation or consumption is measured in terms of kWh or MWh (=1000kWh). One kilowatt-hour is equal to one kilowatt being used for a period of one hour.

MPPT: Maximum Power Point Tracker - An electronic device that enables the most efficient use of the power generated through solar arrays.

Off-Grid power: Power or electricity generated outside the major supply distribution areas of a region or Territory. Diesel generators are the most common means of off-grid power generation in the Territory. In the Northern Territory the Power and Water Corporation supplies power through one power grid, which is around Darwin.

Peak capacity: Peak capacity refers to the maximum power a system like a solar or wind generator can generate under the standard or prescribed operating conditions. An 80-watt solar panel, for example, can produce a maximum of 80 watts when insolation is 1000watts/square meter.

Peak Sun Hours (PSH): One PSH = 1kWh/square meter.

Photovoltaic (Solar) Panels: PV or solar panels use solar cells to convert solar energy to electricity. Solar panels are used as part of the power generating equipment in renewable energy power systems in remote locations or as standalone power supply systems.

RAPS: Remote Area Power Supply Systems. A power generation system which can provide electricity to remote and rural homes RAPS usually incorporate power generated from renewable sources such as solar panels and wind generators, as well as non-renewable sources such as diesel or petrol powered generators.

Regulator: A device used to control the current and voltage from power generating sources such as solar arrays and wind generators to allow charging of batteries.

Renewable Energy: Energy that is generated from replaceable or non-depletable sources. These sources include sunlight or solar energy and other sources like wind, biomass and hydro energy. Tidal energy, wave energy and geothermal energy are also considered as renewable.

Solar Energy: Solar energy refers to energy generated directly from sunlight. The two main processes are conversion to electricity using solar cells or for thermal applications like water heating, room heating, drying or desalination. Concentrated sunlight can also be used to generate power using solar cells or by way of heating water or other fluid to drive a motor or turbine.

Stand-alone power systems: Power systems that are not connected to an electric supply net work or grid. They usually generate power using one local resource like solar, wind or diesel.

Tracking array: Some solar array structures are designed to mechanically track the movement of the sun so that the solar panels always face the sun. Tracking arrays cost more than fixed array structures, but produce more solar output from the system.

Wind turbine generator: A device that converts the kinetic energy in the wind into electrical energy.