{
  "updated": "2026-06-01",
  "note": "Single source of truth for terms. Feeds the glossary view and inline tooltips. Every entry is from a research finding (see docs/research-us-ppa.md). status: 'verified' = cited primary/government source; 'secondary' = cited but non-primary (e.g. job postings for the originator role); 'needs-research' = placeholder.",
  "terms": [
    {
      "term": "Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)",
      "category": "Foundations",
      "def": "The long-term contract governing the sale of electricity, and/or its environmental attributes, from a generator to an offtaker.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "LevelTen glossary",
      "url": "https://www.leveltenenergy.com/post/power-purchase-agreement-glossary"
    },
    {
      "term": "Physical PPA",
      "category": "Types",
      "def": "A PPA where electrons and legal title actually flow from the project to the buyer's meter or account.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "LevelTen glossary",
      "url": "https://www.leveltenenergy.com/post/power-purchase-agreement-glossary"
    },
    {
      "term": "Virtual / Financial PPA (VPPA)",
      "category": "Types",
      "def": "A PPA where no electrons are delivered to the buyer. It settles purely financially as a contract-for-differences. The most common corporate PPA model in the US.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "WBCSD; LevelTen",
      "url": "https://www.wbcsd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Pricing-structures-for-corporate-renewable-PPAs.pdf"
    },
    {
      "term": "Contract for Differences (CfD)",
      "category": "Settlement",
      "def": "The settlement mechanism of a VPPA: each period, compare the fixed strike price against the floating market price (LMP). Market above strike, generator pays buyer; market below strike, buyer pays generator. Economically a fixed-for-floating swap.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "Stoel Rives; Norton Rose Fulbright; LevelTen",
      "url": "https://www.stoel.com/insights/reports/the-law-of-solar/power-purchase-agreements-utility-scale-projects"
    },
    {
      "term": "Strike Price (Fixed Price)",
      "category": "Pricing",
      "def": "The fixed $/MWh price the buyer agrees to in a VPPA. It is the reference price for settlement and the consideration for the renewable energy certificates conveyed to the buyer.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "LevelTen terms",
      "url": "https://www.leveltenenergy.com/post/power-purchase-agreement-terms"
    },
    {
      "term": "Locational Marginal Price (LMP)",
      "category": "Market",
      "def": "The wholesale price of electricity at a specific grid location in an ISO/RTO market, reflecting energy, congestion, and losses. The 'floating' price in a VPPA settlement.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "Norton Rose Fulbright",
      "url": "https://www.projectfinance.law/publications/2020/june/corporate-vppas-risks-and-sensitivities"
    },
    {
      "term": "Node",
      "category": "Market",
      "def": "The specific grid location (where a generator connects) at which an LMP is set. Nodal prices are more volatile than hub prices.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "WBCSD; American Cities Climate Challenge",
      "url": "https://cityrenewables.org/vppa/research-and-build-team/understand-basis-risk/"
    },
    {
      "term": "Hub",
      "category": "Market",
      "def": "A regional trading point whose price is a weighted average of many nodes. Less volatile than any single node. Most corporate VPPA buyers negotiate to settle at the hub.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "WBCSD",
      "url": "https://www.wbcsd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Pricing-structures-for-corporate-renewable-PPAs.pdf"
    },
    {
      "term": "Settlement Location",
      "category": "Settlement",
      "def": "The trading hub, pricing node, or zone at which the PPA settles financially. One of the most consequential terms in the contract because it determines who bears basis risk.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "LevelTen glossary",
      "url": "https://www.leveltenenergy.com/post/power-purchase-agreement-glossary"
    },
    {
      "term": "Basis Risk",
      "category": "Risk",
      "def": "The risk that the relationship between the project's local nodal price and the settlement hub price changes over time. In a hub-settled VPPA the developer earns the node price but settles at the hub, absorbing the node-to-hub gap. When hub price exceeds node price, the project loses money.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "WBCSD; Norton Rose Fulbright",
      "url": "https://www.projectfinance.law/publications/2020/june/corporate-vppas-risks-and-sensitivities"
    },
    {
      "term": "Renewable Energy Certificate (REC)",
      "category": "RECs",
      "def": "A market-based instrument representing the property rights to the environmental and non-power attributes of renewable generation. One REC is issued per MWh generated and delivered to the grid.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "EPA",
      "url": "https://www.epa.gov/green-power-markets/renewable-energy-certificates-recs"
    },
    {
      "term": "Shape Risk",
      "category": "Risk",
      "def": "The risk that a renewable project's output profile (when it generates) does not match the hours when prices or demand are highest, eroding the value captured versus a flat block.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "RMI",
      "url": "https://rmi.org/insight/corporate-purchasers-guide-risk-mitigation/"
    },
    {
      "term": "Volume Risk",
      "category": "Risk",
      "def": "The risk that actual generation differs from forecast, changing the quantity settled under the PPA. Mitigated by volume firming agreements and fixed-volume swaps.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "RMI",
      "url": "https://rmi.org/insight/corporate-purchasers-guide-risk-mitigation/"
    },
    {
      "term": "Collar (Floor + Cap)",
      "category": "Pricing",
      "def": "A pricing structure with a price floor and cap. The producer bears price risk within the collar; the buyer is at risk below the floor but caps its exposure above the cap.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "WBCSD",
      "url": "https://www.wbcsd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Pricing-structures-for-corporate-renewable-PPAs.pdf"
    },
    {
      "term": "Negative Pricing / Price Floor",
      "category": "Pricing",
      "def": "Wholesale LMPs can go below zero when there is more generation than the grid can use (local congestion or system-wide oversupply), so suppliers briefly pay to keep producing — common in wind- and solar-heavy markets. In a VPPA without a price floor, every negative-price interval forces the generator to pay the buyer the strike plus the full negative price, so VPPAs increasingly set the Floating Price floor at $0 to cap this exposure.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "EIA — Today in Energy",
      "url": "https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=6730"
    },
    {
      "term": "Commercial Operation Date (COD)",
      "category": "Contract",
      "def": "The date the project is complete and begins commercial delivery. Missing the targeted COD triggers delay damages.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "LevelTen glossary",
      "url": "https://www.leveltenenergy.com/post/power-purchase-agreement-glossary"
    },
    {
      "term": "Delay Damages",
      "category": "Contract",
      "def": "Payments due to the buyer if the seller misses its targeted COD. Penalize the seller for late delivery.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "LevelTen glossary",
      "url": "https://www.leveltenenergy.com/post/power-purchase-agreement-glossary"
    },
    {
      "term": "Capacity Buydown",
      "category": "Contract",
      "def": "Payments due to the buyer if the seller does not complete the project to the expected size. Penalize the seller for underbuilding.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "LevelTen glossary",
      "url": "https://www.leveltenenergy.com/post/power-purchase-agreement-glossary"
    },
    {
      "term": "Credit Support",
      "category": "Contract",
      "def": "Security posted to guarantee performance. In utility PPAs it is typically one-way: the seller posts cash escrow, a letter of credit from an A-or-better bank, or a creditworthy guarantee, usually 6 to 18 months of expected payments post-COD. The investment-grade utility offtaker rarely posts security in return.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "Stoel Rives",
      "url": "https://www.stoel.com/insights/reports/the-law-of-solar/power-purchase-agreements-utility-scale-projects"
    },
    {
      "term": "EEI Master Power Purchase & Sale Agreement",
      "category": "Forms",
      "def": "The standard model bilateral contract for forward purchases and sales of wholesale electricity in the US, published by the Edison Electric Institute. Focuses negotiation on price, quantity, location, and duration. Current version 2.1 (2000). Corporate VPPAs often replace it with ISDA confirmations.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "EEI",
      "url": "https://www.eei.org/en/resources-and-media/master-contract"
    },
    {
      "term": "FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)",
      "category": "Regulatory",
      "def": "The federal regulator of wholesale electricity sales (sales for resale) and interstate transmission. Retail sales stay with state regulators. Wholesale sellers generally need market-based rate authority from FERC.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "FERC",
      "url": "https://ferc.gov/power-sales-and-markets"
    },
    {
      "term": "Market-Based Rate (MBR) Authority",
      "category": "Regulatory",
      "def": "FERC authorization to sell wholesale power at negotiated (not cost-of-service) rates. Granted to sellers who show they and their affiliates lack or have mitigated market power.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "FERC MBR FAQ",
      "url": "https://www.ferc.gov/power-sales-and-markets/electric-market-based-rates/frequently-asked-questions-faqs-market-based"
    },
    {
      "term": "PURPA Qualifying Facility (QF)",
      "category": "Regulatory",
      "def": "A small power production or cogeneration facility certified under PURPA. Facilities over 1 MW can self-certify; QFs of 20 MW or less are exempt from key Federal Power Act rate requirements. PURPA created the utility obligation to purchase from QFs.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "FERC — QF",
      "url": "https://www.ferc.gov/qf"
    },
    {
      "term": "Investment Tax Credit (ITC)",
      "category": "Tax",
      "def": "A federal tax credit worth a percentage of a clean-energy project's qualified investment (base 6%, rising with prevailing-wage/apprenticeship compliance plus domestic-content and energy-community adders). Lowers the developer's net cost, which lowers the achievable PPA price.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "IRS",
      "url": "https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/clean-electricity-investment-credit"
    },
    {
      "term": "Production Tax Credit (PTC)",
      "category": "Tax",
      "def": "A per-kWh federal tax credit on electricity produced and sold (base 0.3 cents/kWh, inflation-adjusted, with the same bonus rates and adders as the ITC). An alternative to the ITC; developers model both to minimize the PPA price.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "IRS",
      "url": "https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/clean-electricity-production-credit"
    },
    {
      "term": "Tax-Credit Transferability",
      "category": "Tax",
      "def": "Post-2022 rule letting a project transfer all or part of its eligible credits to unrelated taxpayers for cash. The cash is not taxable to the seller and not deductible to the buyer; a mandatory IRS pre-filing registration is required. A simpler alternative to traditional tax-equity financing.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "IRS — Elective pay & transferability",
      "url": "https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/elective-pay-and-transferability"
    },
    {
      "term": "Behind-the-Meter (BTM)",
      "category": "Types",
      "def": "Generation on the customer's side of the utility meter. The output directly offsets the customer's electricity bill rather than being sold to the grid.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "EPA",
      "url": "https://www.epa.gov/statelocalenergy/customer-power-purchase-agreements"
    },
    {
      "term": "Front-of-Meter / Offsite PPA",
      "category": "Types",
      "def": "A project located away from the buyer that delivers power to the grid. The buyer keeps buying grid power but uses the project's RECs to cut its market-based Scope 2 emissions. Most corporate VPPAs are offsite.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "EPA",
      "url": "https://www.epa.gov/statelocalenergy/customer-power-purchase-agreements"
    },
    {
      "term": "Sleeved PPA",
      "category": "Types",
      "def": "An offsite physical PPA where the local utility acts as intermediary between developer and buyer, absorbs price-fluctuation risk, and delivers a fixed price. Useful for buyers not versed in power markets; available in deregulated markets.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "EPA Green Power",
      "url": "https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2018-08/documents/guide-purchasing-green-power-4.pdf"
    },
    {
      "term": "Community Solar",
      "category": "Types",
      "def": "A shared local renewable project where an organization buys a share and receives utility bill credits (and possibly RECs) for its portion of the output, at lower upfront cost than owning a system.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "DOE / NREL",
      "url": "https://docs.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/54570.pdf"
    },
    {
      "term": "Curtailment",
      "category": "Contract",
      "def": "When a project's output cannot be physically taken (grid congestion, oversupply). PPAs often pay on a 'deemed delivered / deemed generation' basis, but compensation varies by cause — many contracts do not pay for transmission-related curtailment outside the offtaker's control.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "NREL — Curtailment",
      "url": "https://docs.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/60983.pdf"
    },
    {
      "term": "Force Majeure",
      "category": "Contract",
      "def": "A clause excusing performance during events beyond a party's control. The allocation of loss depends largely on insurance availability (and, in some regions, political risk).",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "DOE ETI",
      "url": "https://www.eere.energy.gov/etiplaybook/pdfs/phase3-sample-10-important-features.pdf"
    },
    {
      "term": "Change in Law",
      "category": "Contract",
      "def": "A clause stating which party bears the risk that a change in law or tax regime after signing diminishes the deal's economics. A core risk-allocation term in any PPA.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "DOE ETI",
      "url": "https://www.eere.energy.gov/etiplaybook/pdfs/phase3-sample-10-important-features.pdf"
    },
    {
      "term": "Bankability",
      "category": "Finance",
      "def": "Whether a PPA can support project-finance debt. A bankable PPA pairs a creditworthy offtaker with a tenor long enough to repay the debt, with project cash flows covering debt service plus margin. Lenders shrink the loan if too much risk sits on the developer.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "World Bank PPP",
      "url": "https://ppp.worldbank.org/sector/energy/energy-power-agreements/power-purchase-agreements"
    },
    {
      "term": "Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE)",
      "category": "Market",
      "def": "The per-MWh lifetime cost of building and running a generator, used as a price benchmark. Berkeley Lab put US utility-scale solar near $46/MWh before tax credits and about $31/MWh after (2023 data) — a direct illustration of how IRA credits pull PPA prices down.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "LBNL — Utility-Scale Solar",
      "url": "https://emp.lbl.gov/utility-scale-solar"
    },
    {
      "term": "PPA Originator",
      "category": "Role",
      "def": "The commercial lead who sources and negotiates PPAs with developers, IPPs, and corporate offtakers — structuring deal type, pricing, and risk allocation, coordinating legal/finance/technical teams, and driving the deal to commercial close. Typical background: 5+ years in energy trading, origination, or PPA structuring.",
      "status": "secondary",
      "source": "energyRe — VP PPA Origination (job description)",
      "url": "https://www.energyre.com/sites/g/files/ujywhv351/files/2022-09/VP,%20PPA%20Origination.pdf"
    },
    {
      "term": "Speed-to-Power",
      "category": "Data centers",
      "def": "How fast a new load can get megawatts energized. With grid interconnection queues running multiple years, speed-to-power has become the binding constraint for AI data centers — and the main reason PPAs are shifting toward firm, on-site, and directly owned generation.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "Utility Dive",
      "url": "https://www.utilitydive.com/news/hyperscaler-data-center-power-companies-grid-utilities/820568/"
    },
    {
      "term": "Firm / Dispatchable Power",
      "category": "Data centers",
      "def": "Generation available on demand around the clock — nuclear, geothermal, hydro, or gas — as opposed to variable solar and wind. Data centers run 24/7, so they value firm power that variable renewables alone can't guarantee.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "DOE",
      "url": "https://www.energy.gov/oe/clean-energy-resources-meet-data-center-electricity-demand"
    },
    {
      "term": "24/7 Carbon-Free Energy (CFE)",
      "category": "Data centers",
      "def": "Matching electricity use with carbon-free generation every hour in every grid region, rather than netting it out across a year (annual/volumetric matching). A stricter clean-energy claim that forces procurement of firm and storage resources, not just cheap midday solar.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "DOE",
      "url": "https://www.energy.gov/oe/clean-energy-resources-meet-data-center-electricity-demand"
    },
    {
      "term": "Bring-Your-Own-Power (BYOP)",
      "category": "Data centers",
      "def": "Building dedicated on-site generation — often gas turbines, sometimes fuel cells — to energize a campus directly, ahead of or instead of a grid connection. The fastest route to firm megawatts, common among neoclouds, but with carbon and air-permit trade-offs.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "S&P Global",
      "url": "https://www.spglobal.com/sustainable1/en/insights/special-editorial/hyperscaler-procurement-to-shape-us-power-investment"
    },
    {
      "term": "Small Modular Reactor (SMR)",
      "category": "Data centers",
      "def": "A factory-built nuclear reactor, typically under ~300 MW, deployed in increments. Offers firm 24/7 carbon-free power that scales with load; first US units backed by corporate offtake are targeted around 2030.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "Google / Kairos Power",
      "url": "https://blog.google/company-news/outreach-and-initiatives/sustainability/google-kairos-power-nuclear-energy-agreement/"
    },
    {
      "term": "Enhanced Geothermal",
      "category": "Data centers",
      "def": "Next-generation geothermal that engineers heat reservoirs in places without natural hydrothermal resources, providing firm, dispatchable, carbon-free power that complements variable renewables.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "Carbon Credits",
      "url": "https://carboncredits.com/google-taps-earths-heat-in-150mw-geothermal-deal-with-ormat-technologies-to-power-data-centers/"
    },
    {
      "term": "Offtaker",
      "category": "Foundations",
      "def": "The buyer of a project's output under a PPA — a utility, a corporate (C&I) buyer, or a data-center operator. The offtaker's creditworthiness is central to whether the project can be financed.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "World Bank PPP",
      "url": "https://ppp.worldbank.org/sector/energy/energy-power-agreements/power-purchase-agreements"
    },
    {
      "term": "Independent Power Producer (IPP)",
      "category": "Foundations",
      "def": "A company that owns and operates generation to sell power, rather than a regulated utility. Talen, Vistra, NRG, and Constellation are large IPPs and common PPA sellers.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "PowerMag",
      "url": "https://www.powermag.com/talen-amazon-launch-18b-nuclear-ppa-a-grid-connected-ipp-model-for-the-data-center-era/"
    },
    {
      "term": "Hyperscaler",
      "category": "Data centers",
      "def": "A large cloud provider running massive data centers — Amazon (AWS), Microsoft, Google, and Meta. Collectively the biggest new driver of US electricity demand and corporate PPA volume.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "S&P Global",
      "url": "https://www.spglobal.com/sustainable1/en/insights/special-editorial/hyperscaler-procurement-to-shape-us-power-investment"
    },
    {
      "term": "Neocloud",
      "category": "Data centers",
      "def": "A newer, GPU-focused cloud provider built for AI workloads (e.g., CoreWeave, Crusoe, Lambda). Often races to secure power through on-site generation rather than long grid-tied PPAs.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "Utility Dive",
      "url": "https://www.utilitydive.com/news/hyperscaler-data-center-power-companies-grid-utilities/820568/"
    },
    {
      "term": "Clean Firm Power",
      "category": "Data centers",
      "def": "Carbon-free generation available on demand around the clock — advanced nuclear, enhanced geothermal, hydro, long-duration storage, or gas with carbon capture. The 'missing middle' that large buyers fund to reach 24/7 carbon-free energy.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "Utility Dive",
      "url": "https://www.utilitydive.com/news/google-firm-peaking-clean-energy-geothermal-nuclear-ccs-hydrogen/693787/"
    },
    {
      "term": "Curtailment-Enabled Headroom",
      "category": "Data centers",
      "def": "Duke researcher Tyler Norris's term for how much new load the existing grid can absorb if that load curtails briefly during peaks. The 2025 'Rethinking Load Growth' study put it at ~76 GW for 0.25% annual curtailment (~98 GW at 0.5%).",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "PowerMag / Duke Nicholas Institute",
      "url": "https://www.powermag.com/duke-researchers-grid-flexibility-key-to-accommodate-load-growth/"
    },
    {
      "term": "Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA)",
      "category": "Foundations",
      "def": "A trade association of 375+ corporate energy buyers whose collective procurement (a record ~27 GW in 2025) increasingly drives what new generation gets built in the US.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "Utility Dive / CEBA",
      "url": "https://www.utilitydive.com/news/corporate-clean-energy-demand-remains-strong-ceba-ceo-rich-powell-2025-26-procurement-trends/819987/"
    },
    {
      "term": "Megawatt-hour (MWh)",
      "category": "Grid basics",
      "def": "A unit of energy: one megawatt of power delivered for one hour. A megawatt (MW) is the rate (power); a megawatt-hour (MWh) is the amount (energy). PPAs price energy in dollars per MWh.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "EIA — Electricity explained",
      "url": "https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/"
    },
    {
      "term": "Capacity Factor",
      "category": "Grid basics",
      "def": "The share of a plant's maximum possible output it actually produces over time. US solar runs roughly 25%, onshore wind ~35%, nuclear ~90%+. A 100 MW solar farm at 25% generates about 219,000 MWh a year, not 876,000.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "EIA — Electricity explained",
      "url": "https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/"
    },
    {
      "term": "ISO / RTO",
      "category": "Grid basics",
      "def": "Independent System Operators / Regional Transmission Organizations — the nonprofit operators that run the wholesale grid and markets across much of the US (ERCOT, PJM, CAISO, MISO, SPP, ISO-NE, NYISO), balancing supply and demand and setting prices in real time.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "FERC",
      "url": "https://ferc.gov/power-sales-and-markets"
    },
    {
      "term": "Capacity Market",
      "category": "Market",
      "def": "A market that pays generators for being available to deliver power in the future (priced in MW), separate from the energy they actually produce. PJM (Reliability Pricing Model), MISO (Planning Resource Auction), ISO-NE (Forward Capacity Market), and NYISO (ICAP) run capacity markets; ERCOT is the major exception.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "PJM Manual 18; MISO",
      "url": "https://www.pjm.com/-/media/DotCom/documents/manuals/m18.ashx"
    },
    {
      "term": "Energy-Only Market",
      "category": "Market",
      "def": "A wholesale market that pays generators only for the energy they deliver (plus ancillary services), with no separate capacity payment — relying on scarcity pricing to signal new investment. ERCOT is the prime US example, and its grid is intrastate, so it is not subject to FERC wholesale-market jurisdiction.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "ERCOT; FERC",
      "url": "https://www.ercot.com/files/docs/2019/09/17/Market_Structure_OnePager_FINAL_Revised.pdf"
    },
    {
      "term": "Congestion Revenue Right (CRR)",
      "category": "Market",
      "def": "A financial instrument (CAISO and ERCOT term; PJM, MISO, and SPP call the equivalent a Financial Transmission Right, or FTR) that pays its holder the congestion price difference between two grid locations — letting a generator or buyer hedge node-to-hub basis risk directly in the market.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "CAISO",
      "url": "https://www.caiso.com/market-operations/products-services/congestion-revenue-rights"
    },
    {
      "term": "Baseload vs Peaker",
      "category": "Grid basics",
      "def": "Baseload plants (nuclear, large gas) run nearly continuously; peakers run only when demand spikes. Variable renewables (solar, wind) generate only when the resource is available — which is why firm, around-the-clock power matters for a 24/7 load like a data center.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "EIA — Electricity explained",
      "url": "https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/"
    },
    {
      "term": "Wholesale vs Retail",
      "category": "Grid basics",
      "def": "Wholesale is the sale of power for resale (generators to utilities or marketers), regulated federally by FERC; retail is the final sale to homes and businesses, regulated by states. Most PPAs are wholesale transactions.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "FERC",
      "url": "https://ferc.gov/power-sales-and-markets"
    },
    {
      "term": "Load",
      "category": "Grid basics",
      "def": "Electricity demand — the power being consumed at a given moment, measured in MW. A data center is a 'large load.' The grid must match generation to load every instant.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "EIA — Electricity explained",
      "url": "https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/"
    },
    {
      "term": "Kilowatt-hour (kWh)",
      "category": "Grid basics",
      "def": "The unit on your electricity bill: using one kilowatt (1,000 watts) for one hour — e.g., a 1 kW space heater run for an hour. Watts measure power at a moment; watt-hours measure energy over time. A megawatt-hour (MWh), the PPA unit, is 1,000 kWh.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "EIA — Measuring electricity",
      "url": "https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/measuring-electricity.php"
    },
    {
      "term": "Utility",
      "category": "Grid basics",
      "def": "The regulated company that delivers electricity to homes and businesses and sends the bill. Some utilities also own generation; in restructured markets they mainly deliver power that others generate. Distinct from an independent power producer, which only generates.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "EIA — Delivery to consumers",
      "url": "https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/delivery-to-consumers.php"
    },
    {
      "term": "Transmission & Distribution (T&D)",
      "category": "Grid basics",
      "def": "The wires that move power: high-voltage transmission carries it long distances from plants; local distribution lines step it down and deliver it to customers. Transformers at substations raise and lower the voltage along the way.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "EIA — Delivery to consumers",
      "url": "https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/delivery-to-consumers.php"
    },
    {
      "term": "Term Sheet",
      "category": "Contract",
      "def": "A short, mostly non-binding document that captures the commercial core of a deal — price, quantity, location, term, product — before lawyers draft the full agreement. Agreeing the term sheet first focuses the negotiation that follows.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "EEI",
      "url": "https://www.eei.org/en/resources-and-media/master-contract"
    },
    {
      "term": "Conditions Precedent (CP)",
      "category": "Contract",
      "def": "Things that must happen before the contract becomes fully effective or delivery begins — financing close, permits, regulatory approvals, interconnection. A PPA isn't 'done' at signing; the CPs gate the path to commercial operation.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "World Bank PPP",
      "url": "https://ppp.worldbank.org/sector/energy/energy-power-agreements/power-purchase-agreements"
    },
    {
      "term": "Energy Supply Agreement (ESA)",
      "category": "Contract",
      "def": "A bilateral supply contract between a buyer and a competitive electricity supplier in a deregulated market, setting the price, term, and renewable content for electricity supply. Amazon, Oracle, and Microsoft energy procurement roles cite negotiating and executing ESAs as a core responsibility.",
      "status": "secondary",
      "source": "Amazon/Oracle energy job descriptions (2025–2026)",
      "url": "https://www.amazon.jobs/en/jobs/10379535/energy-procurement-manager-aws-east-energy-and-water-team"
    },
    {
      "term": "Green Tariff",
      "category": "Contract",
      "def": "A utility-sponsored renewable energy product approved by a state Public Utility Commission (PUC). The buyer pays the utility a premium; the utility procures renewable generation on the buyer's behalf. The main mechanism for corporate buyers to access renewables in regulated states where direct PPAs are unavailable.",
      "status": "secondary",
      "source": "EPA Green Power Markets; Amazon/Google/Oracle energy job descriptions (2025–2026)",
      "url": "https://www.epa.gov/green-power-markets/green-power-partnership-purchasing-guide"
    },
    {
      "term": "Letter of Credit (LC)",
      "category": "Contract",
      "def": "A bank-issued guarantee that the issuing bank will pay a specified amount if the counterparty defaults. The most common form of credit support in corporate PPAs — typically an irrevocable standby LC from an A-or-better rated bank. Preferred because it is liquid and not subject to the posting party's bankruptcy.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "Stoel Rives — Law of Solar",
      "url": "https://www.stoel.com/insights/reports/the-law-of-solar/power-purchase-agreements-utility-scale-projects"
    },
    {
      "term": "Counterparty Credit Risk",
      "category": "Risk",
      "def": "The risk that the other party to a PPA cannot meet its financial obligations — the developer can't build or operate the project, or the buyer can't make settlement payments. Managed through credit support (LCs, parent guarantees, cash collateral) and offtaker credit ratings. Explicitly tested in Google energy negotiator interviews.",
      "status": "secondary",
      "source": "Norton Rose Fulbright; Google energy job interview analysis (2025–2026)",
      "url": "https://www.projectfinance.law/publications/2020/june/corporate-vppas-risks-and-sensitivities"
    },
    {
      "term": "Large Generator Interconnection Agreement (LGIA)",
      "category": "Contract",
      "def": "The contract between a generator and the grid operator (ISO/RTO or utility) that defines the technical and financial terms for connecting a new power plant to the transmission grid. Negotiating LGIAs and managing the multi-year interconnection queue is an explicit requirement in Amazon and Meta energy roles.",
      "status": "secondary",
      "source": "FERC Order 2003; Amazon/Meta energy job descriptions (2025–2026)",
      "url": "https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/electric/electric-transmission/interconnection-rules-and-procedures"
    },
    {
      "term": "Prudence Review",
      "category": "Regulatory",
      "def": "The state utility commission's review of whether a regulated utility's PPA was a reasonable decision before the utility may recover its costs from ratepayers. The utility files an advice letter or application; commission staff, ratepayer advocates, and a procurement review group examine the deal; approval comes by commission resolution. Some states grant an advance determination of prudence (or a certificate of public convenience and necessity) before the utility commits.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "California State Auditor — CPUC contract oversight; EPA Guide to Action",
      "url": "https://information.auditor.ca.gov/reports/2016-104/appendix.html"
    },
    {
      "term": "Independent Evaluator",
      "category": "Regulatory",
      "def": "A third party retained by a regulated utility (required in California RPS solicitations) to monitor PPA negotiations and report to the commission on whether the deal is cost-effective and the process was fair. Their report accompanies the utility's request for approval.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "California State Auditor — CPUC contract oversight",
      "url": "https://information.auditor.ca.gov/reports/2016-104/appendix.html"
    },
    {
      "term": "Delegation of Authority",
      "category": "Contract",
      "def": "The internal corporate instrument (board resolution or policy) that gives a specific officer the power to bind the company to a contract of a given size. PPA masters make this contractual: each party represents that execution is 'duly authorized by all necessary action' — sign without the delegation behind you and that representation is false, itself an event of default.",
      "status": "verified",
      "source": "EEI Master Power Purchase & Sale Agreement representations",
      "url": "https://www.eei.org/en/resources-and-media/master-contract"
    }
  ]
}