List of definitions
CDM
Clean Development Mechanism: projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gases, registered by the CDM Executive Board in countries that are not signatories of the Kyoto Protocol.
CER
Certified Emission Reductions: certificates used to compensate CO2-emissions from CDM projects.
CertiQ
Subsidiary of TenneT, responsible for issuing Guarantees of Origin.
CO2
Carbon dioxide is mainly released during the burning of fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal; it contributes to the greenhouse effect.
EnerQ
Subsidiary of TenneT, tasked with the implementation of the MEP scheme.
IFRS
International Financial Reporting Standards.
Guarantee of Origin
Guarantees of Origin are certificates of origin for green energy. The certificates give the customer guarantees about the way in which the power has been generated. Guarantees of Origin are tradable.
GJ
Gigajoule; this is 1,000,000,000 Joules. 1 GJ is equal to about 29m³ gas or 278 kWh.
GW
Gigawatt; 1 gigawatt is equal to 1,000,000 kW.
GWh
Gigawatt hour; this is equal to 1,000,000 kWh.
Household equivalent
The average electricity consumption per household. This is approximately 3,800 kWh in the Netherlands.
J
Joule; unit of energy, mostly used for heating.
JI
Joint Implementation: projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in countries that have quantitative targets for emission reduction under the Kyoto Protocol.
KW
Kilowatt; this is 1,000 Watts. kWe: unit of electric power; kWth: unit of thermal power.
kWh
Kilowatt hour; unit for electricity.
m³ natural gas
One cubic metre (1,000 litres) of natural gas; the average household consumption of natural gas is about 1,800 m³, 20% of which is for hot water.
MEP
Environmental Quality of Electricity Production.
MJ
Megajoule; this is 1,000,000 joules.
MW
Megawatt; 1 megawatt is equal to 1,000 kW.
MWh
Megawatt hour; this is 1,000 kWh.
NOx
Nitrogen oxides; gases produced by burning fuels. These gases cause acid rain and smog.
Renewable Energy Equivalent
Unit of heat generated by renewable energy. The heat generated from renewable energy sources (solar hot water systems, heat pumps and landfill gas projects) is converted into kWh renewable electricity equivalents in order to quantify electricity generated by renewable energy. This is done by first calculating the CO2 emissions prevented by renewable heat and then the amount of kWh generated by renewable sources with which the same reduction of emissions would be achieved on the basis of 0.53 kg of prevented CO2 emissions per kWh.
SO2
Sulphur dioxide; a gas produced by burning sulphur or substances containing sulphur (e.g. coal). SO2 is the main cause of acid rain.
TWh
Terawatt hour, this is 1 billion kWh.
VER
Verified Emission Reductions: certificates used to compensate CO2 emissions. The certificate originates from CDM projects that are not registered by the CDM Executive Board.
W
Watt; unit of power.
