Renewable Energy & Sustainability Flashcards
7 cards from real AEP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Renewable Energy & Sustainability flashcards as text
AEP has explored green hydrogen as a future clean energy carrier. How is 'green hydrogen' produced?
Answer: By electrolysis of water powered by renewable electricity
Green hydrogen is produced by using renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis, resulting in zero direct carbon emissions.
State Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) in AEP's service territory require utilities to do what?
Answer: Source a minimum percentage of electricity sales from eligible renewable resources
An RPS mandates that a defined percentage of a utility's retail electricity sales come from qualified renewable sources, driving AEP's investment in wind and solar.
Which AEP sustainability initiative focuses on planting trees to offset carbon emissions and enhance community environments?
Answer: AEP ReLeaf Program
AEP's ReLeaf program plants trees in communities across its service territory to sequester carbon, reduce urban heat islands, and improve quality of life for customers.
AEP operates in both regulated and competitive markets. In regulated states, who ultimately approves a utility's renewable energy investments in rate base?
Answer: State public utility commissions (PUCs) or state regulatory bodies
In regulated states, state public utility commissions approve capital investments for inclusion in rate base, determining whether customers pay for new renewable projects through their rates.
What does 'additionality' mean in the context of AEP's corporate renewable energy purchases?
Answer: Ensuring the renewable purchase funds new capacity that would not have been built otherwise
Additionality means that a renewable energy purchase directly enables construction of new renewable generation that would not have existed without that financial support.
AEP's transmission business invests in grid upgrades to support renewable integration. Under FERC Order 1000, who is responsible for transmission planning that facilitates renewable energy access?
Answer: Regional transmission planning processes involving all affected utilities
FERC Order 1000 requires regional and interregional transmission planning processes that consider public policy goals like renewable integration, with cost allocation among benefiting utilities.
When AEP reports its renewable energy progress, what does the term 'avoided emissions' quantify?
Answer: The CO2 that would have been released if fossil fuel generation replaced actual renewable output
Avoided emissions measure the CO2 that was not released because renewable generation displaced what would have been equivalent fossil-fuel generation on the grid.