Farm Bill, Energy Title, Section 9006 : In a first for U.S. agriculture policy, the 2002 Farm Bill included an energy title that established a variety of programs to support farm-based renewable energy. Most notable for wind energy is the renewable energy grant and loan guarantee program administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) : An independent regulatory agency within the U.S. Department of Energy that has jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales, wholesale electricity rates, natural gas and oil pipeline rates, and gas pipeline certification. It also licenses and inspects private, municipal, and state hydroelectric projects and oversees related environmental matters.
Fertilizer : Materials such as nitrogen and phosphorus that provide nutrients for plants. Commercially sold fertilizers may contain other chemicals or may be in the form of processed sewage sludge.
Finished Water : Water that has passed through all the processes in a water treatment plant and is ready to be delivered to consumers.
Fission : The process of splitting a heavy nucleus into roughly two nuclei of lighter elements, with the simultaneous release of substantial amounts of energy in the form of kinetic energy and in the form of emission of neutrons and gamma rays.
Flip Models/ Flip Dynamics : One example of a business model structure which brings in a tax-motivated equity partner to effectively own the project during the period when the PTC and accelerated depreciation are available (i.e., the first 10 years of the project's life).
Floodplain : Mostly level land along rivers and streams that may be submerged by floodwater. A 100-year floodplain is an area that can be flooded once in every 100 years.
Fluorocarbons : Organic compounds in which one or more hydrogen atoms are replaced by fluorine. Once used in the United States as a propellant in aerosols, they are now primarily used in coolants and some industrial processes. FCs containing chlorine are called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). They are believed to be modifying the ozone layer in the stratosphere thereby allowing more harmful solar radiation to reach the Earth's surface.
Food Chain : A sequence of organisms, each of which uses the next, lower member of the sequence as a food source.
Forests : Lands on which trees are the principal plant life, usually conducive to wide biodiversity. Also, the legal classification of land use in a country. Three broad types of forests are tropical forests, temperate forests, and boreal forests.
Fossil Fuel: A fuel, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, produced by the decomposition of ancient (fossilized) plants and animals; compare to alternative energy. Fossil fuels were formed deep under the earth millions of years ago from the decomposition of plant and animal matter.
Fresh Water : Water that generally contains less than 1,000 milligrams-per-liter of dissolved solids.
Fuel Economy Standard : The Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standard (CAFE), effective in 1978, enhanced the national fuel conservation effort imposing a miles-per-gallon floor for motor vehicles.
Fuel Efficiency : The amount of energy released by fuel combustion that is converted into useful energy.
Fungi : Molds, mildews, yeasts, mushrooms, a group of organisms that lack chlorophyll (i.e., are not photosynthetic) and which are usually non-mobile and multicellular. Some grow in the ground, others attach themselves to decaying trees and other plants and get their nutrition from decomposing organic matter. Some cause disease, others break down solid wastes.
Wilson Community College | P.O. Box 4305 • 902 Herring Avenue | Wilson, NC 27893 | Phone: (252) 291-1195 | Fax: (252) 243-7148