All Posts By

Steve Mills

Glossary
July 14, 2022

Tendering

A procurement mechanism by which renewable energy supply or capacity is competitively solicited from sellers, who offer bids at the lowest price that they would be willing to accept. Bids may be evaluated on both price and non-price factors.
Steve Mills
Glossary
July 13, 2022

Syngas

Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a fuel gas mixture consisting primarily of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and very often some carbon dioxide. The name comes from its use as intermediates in creating synthetic natural gas and for producing ammonia or methanol. Syngas is frequently a product of coal gasification and the…
Steve Mills
Glossary
July 12, 2022

Spark Spread

A form of analysis used to compare gas prices with electricity prices, by converting the gas price into a price per MWh and subtracting it from the electricity price in that period, taking into account power station efficiency. A negative spark spread indicates that it is more beneficial to sell…
Steve Mills
Glossary
July 11, 2022

Smart Inverter

An inverter with robust software capable of rapid, bidirectional communications, which utilities can control remotely to help with issues such as voltage and frequency fluctuations in order to stabilise the grid during disruptive events.
Steve Mills
Glossary
July 7, 2022

Smart Grid

Electrical grid which uses information and communications technology to co-ordinate the needs and capabilities of the generators, grid operators, end-users and electricity market stakeholders in a system, with the aim of operating all parts as efficiently as possible, minimising costs and environmental impacts and maximising system reliability, resilience and stability.
Steve Mills
Glossary
July 6, 2022

Smart Energy System

An energy system which aims to optimise the overall efficiency and balance of a range of interconnected energy technologies and processes, both electrical and non-electrical (including heat, gas and fuels). This is achieved through: • dynamic demand- and supply-side management; • enhanced monitoring of electrical, thermal and fuel-based system assets;…
Steve Mills
Glossary
July 1, 2022

Power Curve

Graph showing the capacity of a wind turbine to generate energy at different wind speeds. By taking the forecast of wind speed as measured in hours per year and aligning it with the power curve as measured in kilowatts the total kilowatt hours per year which can be generated by…
Steve Mills