4660.0 - Energy Use, Electricity Generation and Environmental Management, Australia, 2011-12 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 31/07/2013   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

GLOSSARY

Aviation turbine fuel

Commonly referred to as 'AVTUR', this is a high octane fuel used in turbine engines, most commonly on commercial passenger or freight aircraft.

Bagasse

A residue of the sugar cane milling process which can be used as a fuel.

Biodiesel

A fuel for diesel engines made from renewable organic materials, as opposed to petroleum.

Biofuels

Fuels produced from renewable organic sources or 'feed stocks'. Biofuels include ethanol and biodiesel and are commonly used as transportation fuels.

Biogas

Landfill (garbage tips) gas and sewage gas. Also referred to as biomass gas.

Biomass system/equipment

Boilers, turbines or processes that use organic matter such as bagasse, wood or other agricultural residues to produce electricity, steam or heat.

Business

A business is generally considered to be a person, partnership or corporation engaged in business or commerce. In this publication, the term represents either the ABN unit or the type of activity unit (TAU), which are the two standard statistical units for the 2011-12 Energy, Water and Environment Management survey. For details, see paragraphs 12-21 of the Explanatory Notes.

Business size

Businesses are categorised as:

  • large businesses, with employment of 200 or more persons
  • medium businesses, with employment of 20 to less than 200 persons
  • small businesses, with employment of less than 20 persons

Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme

A national emissions trading scheme.

Coal

Includes black coal, brown coal and brown coal briquettes.

Coal by-products

Includes coke oven gas, blast furnace gas.

Cogeneration

A system that produces both electricity (or mechanical power) and useful heat from a single fuel source. It is also referred to as "combined heat and power".

Coke

A material derived from heating coal in the absence of air. Used mainly as a fuel and reducing agent in smelting iron ore.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)

A gas made by compressing purified natural gas. Used mainly as a transportation fuel.

Energy usage audit

Energy audits examine current patterns and costs of energy usage. They can be used to identify opportunities for reducing or eliminating inefficient use of energy, as well as investigating alternative energy sources. Includes internal and external audits of energy.

Environmental account

An information system and framework that combines economic activities and uses of a resource with changes in the natural resource base, thus linking resource use with the System of National Accounts.

Fuel oil

The heavy distillates from oil refining, used as fuel for burning in furnaces or boilers.GreenPower

Australian Government accreditation program for the generation of electricity from renewable sources.

Hydroenergy

The energy of falling or flowing water, used in the generation of hydroelectric power.

Industry division

The structure of ANZSIC comprises of four levels, from industry division (broadest level) to industry class (finest level). The main purpose of the industry division level is to provide a limited number of categories which give a broad overall picture of the economy. There are 19 divisions within ANZSIC, each identified by an alphabetical letter, e.g. 'B' for Mining, 'C' for Manufacturing etc.

Industry subdivision

This is the broadest level category within each industry division of ANZSIC and is identified by a two digit code, e.g. industry subdivision 11 Food product manufacturing.

Landfill methane

Methane gas created from the breakdown of organic materials in landfill.

Large business

See the entry for business size.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)

Consists of propane, butane, isobutane and petroleum and is derived by processing, through a low pressure gas separation plant, the natural gas produced from either gas or oil reservoirs.

Medium business

See the entry for business size.

Micro non-employing unit (MNEU)

A business which neither employed people nor exceeded a threshold level of turnover in the reference year.

Natural gas

A mixture of methane and other hydrocarbon gases used chiefly for heating, cooking, electricity generation, and as a raw material in manufacturing.

No. of businesses

These are estimates of the number of Australian businesses which consumed, and incurred expenses for, the various listed inputs, such as diesel, natural gas, fuel, or which generated electricity. A given business may have contributed to more than one estimate. For example, a business that generated electricity using coal and natural gas as inputs would have contributed to the no. of businesses estimates for both coal and natural gas, as well as the estimate for electricity generation.

Non-renewable energy

Energy derived from sources which cannot be replaced once used. Non-renewable energy sources include fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and crude oil.

Off-June year reporting

In annual surveys, businesses are asked to report their operations for the standard financial year. In Australia, this is 1 July to 30 June, however the standard financial year differs between countries. Off-June reporting occurs when a business is unable to report the standard financial year, and instead supplies information for a different, 'off-June' year. Many off-June reporters are companies which are based overseas, while some Australian businesses are off-June reporters for other reasons. For example, most schools report for a calendar year (1 January to 31 December) in order to align with the school year.

Payback time

Equal to the capital expenditure divided by net savings in operating costs per year, e.g. with expenditure of $5 million and net savings of $1 million per year, the payback time is equal to 5 years. Where capital expenditure of a single business consisted of multiple projects or items, payback time was reported for the largest project or item only.

Photovoltaic cells

Electronic devices that convert solar energy directly into electricity. Often called 'solar cells'.

Refinery fuel

A petroleum product derived from crude oil and destined for use as fuel within a refinery itself.

Renewable energy

Energy derived from sources which are practically infinite or which can be naturally replenished. Renewable sources include sunlight (solar energy), hydroenergy, wind power and biological matter.

Renewable fuel

A combustible fuel derived from a biological resource that can be naturally replenished. Such fuels include liquid biofuel, biogas, wood and bagasse. It should be noted that biogas is excluded from this release.

Small business

See the entry for business size.

Total selected industries

Total selected industries comprises data for all ANZSIC divisions, excluding ANZSIC Subdivision 01 Agriculture, Subdivision 62 Finance, Subdivision 63 Insurance and Superannuation Funds and Subdivision 96 Private Households Employing Staff. For a detailed discussion of the scope and coverage of the estimates, see Explanatory Notes paragraphs 7-24.

Trigeneration

A process in which an industrial facility uses its waste energy to produce electricity, heat and cooling. It is also referred to as 'combined cooling, heat and power' (CCHP).