Glossary

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48-hour notice

A short report due within 48 hours of receiving a contribution of $1,000 or more, or of certain large late spending. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Idaho Sunshine Law Reports

501(c)(4)

A nonprofit 'social welfare' organization that can do some political activity and does not have to disclose its donors. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Who Is Behind It: Officials, Agencies, Companies and Money

A

AB 825

California's 2025 law authorizing CAISO and California utilities to take part in markets governed by an independent regional organization, subject to conditions. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: CAISO, How It Pays for Lines, and the New Board Above Its Markets

Abandonment

A defined period of non-operation that triggers removal duties. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Decommissioning Plans and Bonds

Absentee ballot

A ballot voted outside the polling place on election day, by mail or at an early in-person location. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Registering, ID and Absentee Voting in Idaho

Accredited capacity

The share of a resource's nameplate that planners count on during peak or stressed hours. Also called capacity credit or ELCC-based value. How the Power Grid Works: Capacity vs. Energy and Capacity Factor

ACFR

The fullest annual financial report a government can publish, with introductory, financial and statistical sections. Formerly called the CAFR. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Funds, Budget Books and Audits: Reading the Documents

Acre-foot

The water needed to cover one acre one foot deep: 325,851 gallons, or 1,233 cubic meters. Water, Land and Agriculture: How Irrigation Works: Canals, Acre-Feet and Efficiency

The volume that covers one acre one foot deep: 325,851 gallons. Data Center Planning Issues: Water Planning: City Contracts, Water Rights and Reclaimed Supply

The volume of water that covers one acre one foot deep: 325,851 gallons. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Cooling options and water use

ACRS

The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, an independent expert panel that reviews safety issues for the NRC. Nuclear Power: Who regulates nuclear power and how

Action item

An agenda item marked to show the board may vote on it. Idaho law requires items needing a vote to be labeled this way. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Following the Money and Testifying on a Budget

An agenda item labeled to warn that a vote may happen on it. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Notice, Agendas and Action Items

Actual use value

The value of farmland based on what it earns as farmland: net rent divided by a capitalization rate. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Farmland, Timber, Business Equipment and Nonprofits: The Other Big Exemptions

Acute radiation syndrome (ARS)

Illness from a large radiation dose received over a short time, usually well above 100,000 mrem (1,000 mSv). Nuclear Power: Safety record, accidents and radiation doses

Administrative Procedure Act (APA)

The federal law that lets courts set aside agency actions that are arbitrary, unlawful or done without required procedure. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: How Lava Ridge Could Come Back

Administrative rule

A binding regulation written by a state agency under authority the legislature gave it in statute. In Idaho, rules are cited by IDAPA number. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Idaho administrative rules

Adopted vs. proposed vs. actual

Budget columns: proposed is the draft request, adopted is what the board approved, actual is what was really spent once the year closed. Using AI for Research and Writing: How AI Handles Budgets, Audits, Transcripts and Bills

Adoption by reference

Adopting a published code, like a building or fire code, by citing it in an ordinance instead of reprinting it. How Laws and Rules Get Made: City and county lawmaking: ordinances and resolutions

Advertising ID

A device identifier used for ad targeting. Location records tied to it can often be linked back to a person. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Data Brokers and Police Purchases

Aeroderivative

A combustion turbine adapted from an aircraft jet engine. Lighter, faster to start, often used as a peaker. Natural Gas Power: Turning gas into power: turbines, combined cycle and engines

Affected person

Under 67-6521, someone with a bona fide interest in real property that may be adversely affected by a listed land use decision. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Hearings, Due Process and Being Heard

Under Idaho Code 67-6521, someone with a bona fide interest in real property that may be adversely affected by a land-use decision; affected persons can seek review. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: SWIP-N in Jerome County: A Permit Fight, Step by Step

Affiliate

A company under common ownership with another, often set up for one project. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: The Companies and Agencies Behind the Lines

Affirmative defense

A fact the defendant proves to defeat a claim even if the other elements are met, such as the 67-6628A disclosure. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Deepfakes and the Law

AFIDA

The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act. Foreign persons who acquire or hold U.S. agricultural land must report it to USDA. Water, Land and Agriculture: Farm Economics: Markets, Programs, Land Values and Who Owns the Ground

AFUDC

Allowance for Funds Used During Construction: the financing cost a utility adds to a plant's value while it is being built, later recovered in rates if approved. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: Elmore County and the Rest of the Magic Valley

Agenda notice

The posted list of items of business for a meeting, posted the same way as the meeting notice. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Notice, Agendas and Action Items

Agent

An AI system, usually built on a language model, that can use tools and take several steps on its own toward a goal. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: The Kinds of AI and What Each Is For

Agglomeration spillover

Productivity gains that nearby firms get from a large new plant, such as shared skilled workers and suppliers. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Does It Work? The Evidence For and Against

Aggregation (anti-circumvention) rule

A provision treating related projects as one for classification, so splitting a project cannot avoid a higher tier. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Zoning Districts, Overlays and Size Tiers

AGI

Artificial general intelligence: a hypothetical system as capable as people across most kinds of work. Definitions vary and none exists by broad agreement. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Narrow vs General, Open vs Closed, Local vs Cloud, and Agents

Agreement State

A state that has taken over NRC authority for certain nuclear materials, such as uranium mills or medical isotopes, under an agreement with the NRC. Nuclear Power: Who regulates nuclear power and how

Agricultural Protection Area (APA)

Farmland a landowner voluntarily enrolls for at least 20 years under Idaho Code Title 67, Chapter 97, with limits on non-farm uses. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Comprehensive Plan Language That Holds Up

AI detector

Software that gives a score or label estimating how likely a text is to be machine-written. The score is a statistical guess, not proof. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: What AI Detection Is and Why People Care

AI inference

Running a trained model to answer requests, such as chat replies or image generation. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: The Types of Data Centers, Side by Side

AI Overview

Google's AI-generated summary shown at the top of many search results pages. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: AI You Did Not Ask For: Copilot, Recall, Search and Phone Defaults

AI search engine

A tool that runs web searches, reads results and writes a short answer with numbered links to the pages it used. Using AI for Research and Writing: Choosing the Right AI Tool for the Job

AI tell

A word, phrase or structure that makes writing read as machine-generated. Using AI for Research and Writing: Recognizing AI Tells in Writing

AI text detection

Any method for estimating whether a piece of writing was produced, wholly or partly, by a language model rather than a person. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: What AI Detection Is and Why People Care

AI training

The long, compute-heavy job of building an AI model from data, usually inside one large GPU cluster. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: The Types of Data Centers, Side by Side

AI use case inventory

A public list federal agencies must keep of the AI systems they use and what for. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Checking an AI Claim: Benchmarks, Demos, Vendors and Records

AI washing

Overstating or inventing the role of AI in a product or service to attract customers or investors. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Checking an AI Claim: Benchmarks, Demos, Vendors and Records

AI winter

A period when funding and interest in AI collapsed after promises outran results. The big ones hit in the 1970s and late 1980s. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: What "AI" Means, and How We Got Here

AI-generated versus AI-assisted

A line drawn by Amazon KDP and others. Generated means an AI tool created the content. Assisted means a person created it and used AI to edit, check or brainstorm. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Detection in Practice: How Institutions Handle Suspected AI Text

Alignment

In AI research, the work of making a system's goals and behavior match what its designers and users intend. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: AI Safety and Risk: Who Argues What

Alternating current (AC)

Current that reverses direction many times a second. U.S. grids alternate 60 times a second (60 hertz). How the Power Grid Works: From Power Plant to Outlet

Amp (ampere)

The unit of current, how much electric charge flows past a point each second. How the Power Grid Works: Electricity Units: Volts, Watts and Kilowatt-Hours

Anchor tenant

The big, committed buyer of a project's capacity whose contract makes financing possible. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: SWIP-N: Who Owns It, Who Runs It, Who Pays

Annexation

A city's act of bringing land into its limits by ordinance under Idaho Code 50-222. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Areas of City Impact and Annexation

Annual report (urban renewal)

The report of the prior calendar year's activities, with financial data and audits, that an agency must file with its city or county by March 31 and present at a public meeting. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: What Agencies Must Report, and Where to Find It

API

Application programming interface: a way for software to send requests to a model and get answers back, usually paid per token. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Who Makes What: Model Families as of October 2026, and a Working Glossary

Appellate capacity

When a governing board reviews a lower body's decision on its record rather than starting over. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: SWIP-N in Jerome County: A Permit Fight, Step by Step

Application efficiency

The share of applied irrigation water that ends up stored in the crop root zone. Water, Land and Agriculture: How Irrigation Works: Canals, Acre-Feet and Efficiency

Appropriation

The legal authority to spend a set amount for a set purpose. For Idaho cities it is adopted by ordinance. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: The Budget Cycle: From Department Requests to a Certified Levy

Arbitrage (energy shifting)

Charging when power is cheap and discharging when it is expensive, earning the price spread. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: What Grid Batteries Do and Who Pays Them

ARC and PLC

Agriculture Risk Coverage pays when county or individual revenue falls below a guarantee. Price Loss Coverage pays when a crop's price falls below its effective reference price. Water, Land and Agriculture: Farm Economics: Markets, Programs, Land Values and Who Owns the Ground

Area of city impact

Unincorporated land around a city where growth is expected and annexation is very likely within five years. The county governs it. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Areas of City Impact and Annexation

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Computer systems that do tasks we used to think needed human judgment, such as recognizing speech, ranking options or writing text. An umbrella word, not one technology. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: What "AI" Means, and How We Got Here

Aspect ratio

The shape of a frame, written width to height, such as 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: How Image Generators Work in Practice

Assessment notice

The assessor's yearly notice of your property's market value, with appeal rights and, since 2024, prior taxes by district and budget hearing dates. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Reading a Tax Bill and Comparing Years

Assessment ratio

Assessed value divided by sale price for a property that sold. A ratio of 0.95 means the assessor's value was 95 percent of the price. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: How Idaho Assesses Property: Market Value, Mass Appraisal and Ratio Studies

Assessor

The elected county official who values property for tax purposes. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Who Governs What: Counties, Cities, Schools and Special Districts

Associated gas

Gas that comes up with crude oil from oil wells, as opposed to wells drilled mainly for gas. Natural Gas Power: What natural gas is and where it comes from

Astroturfing

Faking grassroots support, for example by submitting masses of comments or letters under real or invented names. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Judging a Claim That Something Was Written by AI

Attention

The transformer's method for letting each token weigh how much every other token matters to its meaning. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: How Large Language Models Work

Audibility requirement

The 74-203(5) rule that members' communications must be audible to the public attending in person. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Remote and Electronic Meetings

Audio tag

A bracketed direction inside a line, such as [sighs] or [whispers], that shapes how an expressive model delivers it. AI for Voice and Music: Multi-Voice Scripts in Dialogue Editor

Audit log

A system record of each search: who ran it, when, what was searched and the stated reason. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Plate Readers: Results, Misuse, Courts and Pushback

Augmentation

AI helping a worker do a task faster or better, as opposed to doing it instead of the worker. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Jobs and the Economy: What the Research Shows So Far

Adding or swapping battery modules during a project's life to make up for capacity lost to aging. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Battery Chemistries: LFP, NMC, Sodium-Ion, Flow and the Rest

AUROC

Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: a 0.5 to 1.0 summary of how well a detector ranks AI texts above human ones across all possible thresholds. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: How AI Text Detectors Work

Authority having jurisdiction (AHJ)

The official or agency that enforces a code locally, usually the fire marshal or fire chief for fire code matters. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Codes, Standards and How Battery Fires Are Fought

Authorship claim

A statement about who or what produced a text. Treat it like any factual claim: it needs evidence, and the person making it carries the burden. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Judging a Claim That Something Was Written by AI

Automated license plate reader (ALPR)

A camera system that photographs vehicles, uses optical character recognition to read the plate, and stores the plate, time, location and image. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: How License Plate Readers Work

Automatic transfer switch (ATS)

A switch that moves a load from utility power to generator power and back without a person throwing it. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Power Systems: From the Substation to the Server

B

B2H

Boardman to Hemingway, a 500 kV line from the Longhorn station near Boardman, Oregon to the Hemingway substation in southwest Idaho. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: Hemingway: Boardman to Hemingway and Gateway West

Backpropagation

The bookkeeping that works out how much each weight in every layer contributed to the error, so each can be nudged the right way. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Neural Networks and Deep Learning in Plain Words

Balancing authority

The entity that keeps supply and demand in balance in real time within a defined area. How the Power Grid Works: Who Runs the Grid

The entity that keeps generation, load and imports in balance in real time for a defined area. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: Three Grids, Seven Market Operators, and a West That Never Joined

Ballot titles

The short and long titles the attorney general writes for a measure. They appear on petitions and the ballot and can be appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Ballot initiatives and referendums in Idaho

Base assessment roll

The equalized value of the area's property on January 1 of the year the ordinance is adopted, with adjustments, against which growth is measured. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Urban Renewal and Tax Increment Financing in Idaho

Base rate

How common something is in general, which you need before calling any one case unusual. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Following the Money Into Ads, and Describing It Fairly

How common the thing you are looking for is in the group you are testing, such as the share of essays in a class actually written by AI. It changes what a flag means. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Accuracy and False Positives: Who Gets Flagged and Why

How common something is in the group you are checking. A detector's errors matter more when actual AI use in the group is rare. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Judging a Claim That Something Was Written by AI

Baseline sampling

Testing soil, water and air before a project starts, so later results can be compared against real local conditions. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Environmental Damage, Cleanup and What a County Can Require

Baseload

The minimum demand that stays on around the clock, and the plants that run most hours to serve it. How the Power Grid Works: Balancing Supply and Demand Every Second

Basis

The difference between a regional hub price and Henry Hub. Positive basis means the region pays more. Natural Gas Power: Prices and volatility: Henry Hub, basis and your power bill

Battery energy storage system (BESS)

Batteries plus inverters, controls, cooling and fire protection that store grid electricity for later use. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Fire and Battery Storage Safety Standards

Battery management system (BMS)

Electronics and software that measure cell voltages, currents and temperatures, estimate charge and health, balance cells and disconnect parts of the battery when limits are crossed. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: The Battery Management System: The Part That Knows Each Cell

Bcf/d

Billion cubic feet per day, the standard unit for gas production and flow rates. Tcf is trillion cubic feet. Natural Gas Power: What natural gas is and where it comes from

Begin construction

The tax law test for when a project starts, which decides which credit rules apply to it. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: How Lava Ridge Could Come Back

Beginning of construction

The IRS test for when a project counts as started, which decides which tax credit rules apply. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: What Energy Costs: LCOE, System Costs and Tax Credits

Behind-the-meter generation

Power plants built at a customer's site, such as a data center, serving that load directly rather than through the grid. Natural Gas Power: Gas in the grid: share, coal, renewables and data centers

A power plant that serves a customer directly on site rather than selling into the utility grid first. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: The Cassia County Data Center Proposal

Benchmark

A standard test set used to score and compare models, such as a set of math problems or coding tasks. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Who Makes What: Model Families as of October 2026, and a Working Glossary

A fixed test set used to score and compare AI systems. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Bias and Errors: How AI Gets Things Wrong

Benchmark contamination

When test questions or answers appear in a model's training data, so a high score reflects memory rather than skill. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Checking an AI Claim: Benchmarks, Demos, Vendors and Records

Beneficial use

A recognized useful purpose, such as irrigation, domestic, stock or industrial use. It is the basis and measure of a Western water right. Water, Land and Agriculture: First in Time: How Western Water Rights Work

BESS Failure Incident Database

EPRI's public list of stationary battery failure incidents worldwide, with size, chemistry, age, enclosure and sources for each. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: The Fire Record: Notable BESS Fires and Where the List Lives

Betz limit

The theoretical maximum share of wind energy a turbine can extract, 16/27 or about 59.3 percent. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Wind: The Cube Law, Capacity Factors and Siting

Bidirectional capacity

A line's ability to move power in both directions, rated separately for each direction. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: SWIP-N on the Ground

Binary cycle plant

A plant that uses geothermal water to boil a second fluid with a lower boiling point, which drives the turbine. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Geothermal: Conventional Plants and Enhanced Systems

Blowdown

Deliberately venting gas from a pipeline section or compressor, for maintenance or in an emergency. Loud and releases methane. Natural Gas Power: Safety and local impacts: pipelines, compressors, well sites and land

Board of canvassers

The body that reviews returns and certifies results: county commissioners at the county level, the Secretary of State, controller and treasurer at the state level. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: From Election Night to Certified: Canvass and Recounts

Board of equalization

The county commissioners sitting to hear property value and exemption appeals, through the fourth Monday of June. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Reading a Tax Bill and Comparing Years

Board of equalization (BOE)

The county commissioners sitting to equalize assessments and hear appeals of value and exemption decisions. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Appealing a Value: Board of Equalization, Board of Tax Appeals, District Court

Board of Tax Appeals (BTA)

A three-member state board, appointed by the governor, that hears appeals from county boards of equalization and from Tax Commission decisions. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Appealing a Value: Board of Equalization, Board of Tax Appeals, District Court

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

A reactor where water boils in the core and the steam goes directly to the turbine. Nuclear Power: Reactor types side by side

Bossware

Informal name for software that tracks employee activity, such as screenshots, keystrokes and idle time. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Private Surveillance: Doorbells, Partnerships and the Workplace

BPM

Beats per minute, the tempo of a piece. AI for Voice and Music: Prompting Songs in MusicStudio and Cleaning Them in SoundStudio

Breeder reactor

A fast reactor that produces more fissile material, usually plutonium from U-238, than it consumes. Nuclear Power: Idaho's nuclear history

Bridge fuel

The idea that gas can cut emissions now by replacing coal while cleaner sources scale up. Natural Gas Power: The debates: bridge or lock-in, cold snaps, and gas versus storage

Bulk-power system

The high-voltage grid and the generation needed to keep it reliable. EO 14421 counts lines at 69 kV and above and excludes local distribution. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: The Energy Orders: Emergency, Dominance, Coal, Nuclear and the Grid

Bundling

Collecting many separate contributions from people connected by employer, family or group and delivering them together, which is legal when each person gives their own money. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Reading a Report Step by Step

Burden of proof

The duty to prove a claim. In Idaho value appeals, the party seeking relief must show the value is wrong by a preponderance of the evidence. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Appealing a Value: Board of Equalization, Board of Tax Appeals, District Court

Burned-in captions

Captions drawn into the video image itself, so they show on every platform even with sound off. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Worked Case: Anatomy of a 30-Second AI-Assisted Explainer

Burstiness

How much the predictability of a text varies from sentence to sentence. Human writing tends to swing more; model writing tends to stay steady. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: How Machines Write, and Why It Leaves Fingerprints

But for

The question of whether development would have happened without the public subsidy. It decides whether captured increment is a real cost to everyone else. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Who Carries the Cost of the Increment

But-for analysis

Estimating whether a project would have happened without the incentive. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Taxes and Incentives: Who Gives Up What

By-right use

A use the zone permits outright, approved administratively if it meets the written standards, with no public hearing. Data Center Planning Issues: Zoning Questions: Is a Data Center Even an Allowed Use?

C

C2PA

The Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, which publishes the open standard for signed provenance data called Content Credentials. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: AI Images in News and Advocacy: Illustration versus Evidence

CAFO

Concentrated animal feeding operation: an animal feeding operation that meets size thresholds or is designated because of its discharges. Water, Land and Agriculture: Groundwater, Wells and Water Quality

CAISO

California Independent System Operator, the nonprofit created under California's 1996 restructuring law that balances most of California's grid, runs its wholesale markets and operates the WEIM and EDAM for the wider West. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: CAISO, How It Pays for Lines, and the New Board Above Its Markets

Camera integration

A program that connects private cameras directly to a police platform so officers can view feeds without asking each time. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Drones, Camera Networks and Real-Time Crime Centers

Camera registry

A list of private cameras whose owners tell police they exist, so investigators know whom to ask for footage. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Drones, Camera Networks and Real-Time Crime Centers

Candidate list

The ranked set of possible matches a one-to-many search returns for human review. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Facial Recognition: Accuracy, Arrests and Rules

Canvass

The official review and tally of election returns that turns election-night numbers into certified results. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Who Runs Idaho Elections, and When

Capacity entitlement

The right to schedule a set number of megawatts in a given direction on a line. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: SWIP-N: Who Owns It, Who Runs It, Who Pays

Capacity factor

Actual energy produced over a period divided by what the plant would have made running at full nameplate the whole time. How the Power Grid Works: Capacity vs. Energy and Capacity Factor

Actual energy produced in a period divided by what the plant would make running at full rated power the whole time. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Hydropower: Dams, Rivers and Water Years

Actual output over a period divided by what the unit would make running at full power the whole time. Natural Gas Power: Turning gas into power: turbines, combined cycle and engines

Actual energy produced divided by what the plant would make running at full rating all year. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: The Big Solar Question

Capital expenditure (capex)

Money spent on long-lived assets such as buildings, land and equipment, as opposed to day-to-day costs. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Who Builds Data Centers, and Why Now

Money a company spends on long-lived assets such as buildings, chips, servers and power equipment. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: The AI Slowdown: What the Evidence Shows as of October 2026

Capital improvements plan

The adopted list of facilities an impact fee can pay for, required before a city, county or other entity the Act covers can charge impact fees. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Fees, Impact Fees and Enterprise Funds: Water, Sewer and Growth

Capital recovery factor

The share of an upfront cost to charge each year so the investment is repaid with interest over a set life. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: What Energy Costs: LCOE, System Costs and Tax Credits

Capitalization rate

The rate used to turn a yearly income into a value. Value = income / rate. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Farmland, Timber, Business Equipment and Nonprofits: The Other Big Exemptions

Carve-out

A topic a proposed law expressly leaves alone, such as child safety in federal AI preemption proposals. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Rules That Limit AI: Idaho's Chatbot Law, the States and the Preemption Fight

Cascading failure

A failure in one system that triggers failures in others that depend on it. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Security, Reliability and Why Outages Happen

Cash on hand

The money a committee has at the close of a reporting period: beginning cash plus receipts minus disbursements. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Federal Reports: FEC Filings, Schedules and Super PACs

Categorical exclusion

A category of federal actions an agency has found normally have no significant environmental effect, so they skip a full NEPA environmental assessment or impact statement. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Data Centers on Federal Land: EO 14318, DOE Sites, Army Bases and the Ratepayer Pledge

Cathode chemistry

The material of a lithium-ion cell's positive electrode, which gives the chemistry its name: LFP, NMC, NCA and so on. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Battery Chemistries: LFP, NMC, Sodium-Ion, Flow and the Rest

CEDS

The regional economic development strategy an EDD must prepare and update for EDA. It lists the region's priorities and projects. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Regional Development Groups: SIEDO, Frontier and the Chambers

Cell balancing

Evening out the charge across cells in series so no cell is overcharged or overdischarged. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: The Battery Management System: The Part That Knows Each Cell

Cell-site location information (CSLI)

Records a phone company keeps showing which cell towers a phone connected to and when. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: The Fourth Amendment in Eight Cases

Cell-site simulator

A device that imitates a cell tower so phones connect to it, used to locate or identify phones. Brand names have included StingRay. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Phones: Cell-Site Simulators, Location Requests and Extraction Tools

Census of Agriculture

USDA NASS's count of every U.S. farm and ranch, taken every five years. The 2022 census is the latest published. Water, Land and Agriculture: Farm Economics: Markets, Programs, Land Values and Who Owns the Ground

CERCLA

The federal Superfund law, under which EPA can oversee and require cleanup of hazardous substance releases. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Environmental Damage, Cleanup and What a County Can Require

Certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN)

Idaho PUC permission, under Idaho Code 61-526, for a utility to build a line or plant. It does not decide what customers will pay. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: How a Transmission Line Gets Into Your Bill

Certificate of review

The attorney general's advisory review of a proposed initiative's form and style, required before ballot titles are assigned. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Ballot initiatives and referendums in Idaho

Certification

The district's formal statement to the county of how many dollars it will raise from property tax. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: The Budget Cycle: From Department Requests to a Certified Levy

The official act that declares the results final and lets certificates of nomination or election be issued. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: From Election Night to Certified: Canvass and Recounts

Chain of custody

The signed record of who had ballots and equipment, when and where, from printing to storage. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Election Security and Audits in Plain Terms

Chain reaction

A process where neutrons from one fission cause further fissions. A reactor holds it steady at one new fission per fission. Nuclear Power: How fission makes heat

Chamber of commerce

A private membership association of businesses, usually a 501(c)(6) nonprofit, that advocates for business interests and often runs tourism and visitor programs. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Regional Development Groups: SIEDO, Frontier and the Chambers

Chat assistant

A general AI tool you talk to in plain language, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot. Answers from its training plus any search or files you give it. Using AI for Research and Writing: Choosing the Right AI Tool for the Job

Chatbot markup residue

Leftover formatting or internal reference codes from a chatbot interface pasted into a document, such as stray Markdown symbols or citation placeholders. Strong evidence of copy and paste from a specific tool. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: The Tells: Word Choice, Habits and Invented Facts

Chevron deference

The rule from a 1984 Supreme Court case that courts should accept an agency's reasonable reading of an ambiguous statute. Overruled in 2024. How Laws and Rules Get Made: How courts interpret laws and rules

Chilled water plant

Chillers that cool water, which is piped to air handlers or coolant units in the halls. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Cooling: Air, Water and Liquid to the Chip

Circuit breaker

The common name for Idaho's property tax reduction program, which cuts taxes by $250 to $1,500 for qualifying lower-income owners who are older, disabled, widowed, blind or in similar categories. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Homeowner Relief: The Exemption, the State Credit, the Circuit Breaker and Veterans

Citygate

The point where a gas utility takes delivery from an interstate pipeline. Citygate prices include pipeline transport costs. Natural Gas Power: Prices and volatility: Henry Hub, basis and your power bill

Claim creep

New, unsourced claims that slip into text during AI editing or rewriting. Using AI for Research and Writing: What AI Writing Assistants Do to Your Text

Claim ledger

A list of every factual claim in a document with its source, location and status: verified, corrected or cut. Using AI for Research and Writing: Verifying Everything AI Tells You

A list of every factual claim in a document with its source, location and status. Using AI for Research and Writing: Worked Case: From Records Request to Verified Findings

Class location

PHMSA's rating of how many buildings sit near a pipeline segment. Higher classes require stronger pipe and lower operating pressure. Natural Gas Power: Safety and local impacts: pipelines, compressors, well sites and land

Classifier

A model trained on labeled examples to sort new inputs into categories, such as human-written and AI-written. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: How AI Text Detectors Work

Clawback

A contract term requiring repayment of some or all incentive value if commitments are missed; can be all-or-nothing or proportional. Data Center Planning Issues: Tax Incentive Decisions: State Exemptions, County Deals and Clawbacks

A contract term requiring a company to repay incentives if it misses its job or investment commitments. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Does It Work? The Evidence For and Against

Clean agent

A gaseous fire suppressant such as Novec 1230 that cools and interrupts flames without water. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Inside a BESS: Cells to Containers, Inverters to Fire Systems

Clearance rate

The share of reported crimes solved, usually by arrest. Studies sometimes use arrest rates as a stand-in. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Plate Readers: Results, Misuse, Courts and Pushback

Closed model

A model available only through the company's app or paid API; the weights stay private. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Narrow vs General, Open vs Closed, Local vs Cloud, and Agents

Closed primary

A primary in which only voters registered with the party may vote, unless the party chooses to let others in. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Who Runs Idaho Elections, and When

Closed-loop cooling

A sealed system that circulates the same coolant, rejecting heat through dry coolers or chillers instead of evaporation. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Water: Cooling, Aquifers and Reclaimed Supply

Cloud region

A geographic area where a cloud provider clusters data centers, usually split into separate availability zones. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: The Types of Data Centers, Side by Side

Co-located (paired) storage

A battery built at the same site as a solar or wind plant, sharing the interconnection; EIA calls batteries with no pairing independent. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: What Grid Batteries Do and Who Pays Them

Code execution

A feature where the AI writes and runs a program, often Python, to analyze an uploaded file instead of guessing in text. Using AI for Research and Writing: Analyzing Data with AI, and Checking the Math Yourself

Code name

A project label such as 'Project Blue' used to keep the end user's identity private during negotiations. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Secrecy and Process: Who Is Behind It and How to Find Out

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

Federal regulations in force, organized by subject into titles, like the U.S. Code for statutes. How Laws and Rules Get Made: The federal process: Congress, agencies, the Federal Register and executive orders

Codification

Folding acts into an organized code by subject, so the current text of the law can be read in one place. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Reading a bill and a statute

Coefficient of dispersion (COD)

The average distance of individual ratios from the median, as a percent of the median. It measures uniformity. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: How Idaho Assesses Property: Market Value, Mass Appraisal and Ratio Studies

Cold open

Audio that starts immediately, before any theme or title, to grab attention. AI for Voice and Music: Worked Example: Inside a 60-Second Podcast Intro

Colocation

A data center where the operator provides space, power, cooling and connectivity, and customers bring their own servers. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: The Types of Data Centers, Side by Side

Combined cycle (NGCC)

A gas turbine plus a heat recovery steam generator and steam turbine that make extra power from the exhaust heat. Natural Gas Power: Turning gas into power: turbines, combined cycle and engines

Combined license (COL)

A Part 52 license that authorizes both building and operating a reactor at a site. Nuclear Power: Who regulates nuclear power and how

Commenter

A person or group that files written comments in a PUC case without becoming a party. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: The Advocacy Groups and How They Work Idaho Government

Commercial and industrial (C&I) storage

Batteries behind a business's meter, sized between home units and utility plants; EPRI tracks their failures along with utility systems. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Sizes: From a Garage Wall to a 1,200 MWh Plant

Commercially available information

Data anyone can buy, a category federal agencies use to justify purchases without warrants. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Data Brokers and Police Purchases

Commissioner

A member of an urban renewal agency's board. Unpaid, appointed by the mayor or county chair with the governing body's consent unless the board is elected. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Who Runs Urban Renewal: Agencies and Their Boards

Common costs

Site-wide costs such as intake structures, roads and support buildings shared by several units. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Projects planned, deals signed and the cost record

Community benefit agreement (CBA)

A contract in which a developer promises specific benefits to a community, signed with a local government or community groups, often in exchange for support or non-opposition. Data Center Planning Issues: Community Benefit Agreements: What They Can and Cannot Enforce

Community match

The local government's required contribution to a TRI project, such as cash, fee waivers, in-kind services or infrastructure, with a letter from its elected officials. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Idaho Commerce Incentives and the Local Match

Community Requests

Ring's program, launched in September 2025, letting police ask users for footage through Axon's system. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Private Surveillance: Doorbells, Partnerships and the Workplace

Comp plan

Short for the plan Idaho Code 67-6508 requires every city and county to adopt. It sets goals and policies; zoning carries them out. Water, Land and Agriculture: Land Use: Plans, Zoning, Permits and Farmland

Comparable sale

A recent arm's-length sale of a similar property, adjusted for differences, used as evidence of value. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Appealing a Value: Board of Equalization, Board of Tax Appeals, District Court

Comprehensive plan

The policy document Idaho Code 67-6508 requires every city and county to adopt, built on a list of required components and adopted by resolution. Idaho Planning and Zoning: The Comprehensive Plan: Components and Amendments

Compressor station

A facility of engines or turbines that repressurizes gas along a pipeline so it keeps flowing. Natural Gas Power: Moving gas: pipelines, storage and LNG

Compute

Shorthand for the amount of calculation used, often counted in floating point operations (FLOP), or for the chips that supply it. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: What AI Runs On: Chips, Compute and Cost

Computer vision

AI that finds and labels things in images and video: faces, plates, tumors, potholes. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: The Kinds of AI and What Each Is For

Concatenation

Joining audio files end to end. A plain MP3 concatenation plays fine but can carry small seams or header quirks. AI for Voice and Music: Multi-Voice Scripts in Dialogue Editor

Concurrent resolution

A resolution passed by both chambers that does not go to the governor. Idaho uses them to approve or reject agency rules. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Idaho administrative rules

A measure adopted by both chambers of the Legislature that states findings or policy but does not have the force of law. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Comprehensive Plan Language That Holds Up

A measure adopted by both chambers of the Idaho Legislature stating a position; it does not have the force of law. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: The Advocacy Groups and How They Work Idaho Government

Concurrently maintainable

Built so any component or path can be taken out for maintenance without shutting down the IT load. The core of Uptime Tier III. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Power Systems: From the Substation to the Server

Condition of approval

A requirement attached to a permit, such as hours of operation or a buffer, that the owner must meet to use the permit. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Conditional Uses, Variances, PUDs and Development Agreements

Conditional use permit

Permission for a use the zoning ordinance allows only after a hearing and with conditions. Idaho's statute calls it a special use permit. Water, Land and Agriculture: Land Use: Plans, Zoning, Permits and Farmland

Conditional use permit (CUP)

Permission for a use the zone allows only after a hearing and with conditions; Idaho calls it a special use permit in Idaho Code 67-6512. Data Center Planning Issues: The Approval Path: From Land Option to Switch-On

A county or city land-use approval for a use allowed in a zone only after a hearing and with conditions. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: The Southern Idaho Build-Out at a Glance

Conditioning

Extra input that steers a model's output, such as a text prompt, lyrics, a reference track or a hummed melody. AI for Voice and Music: How AI Music Generation Works

Conditions of approval

Binding requirements a local government attaches to a rezoning or permit, such as setbacks, berms or noise limits. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Land, Noise, Diesel Generators, Light and Traffic

Cone of depression

The dip in the water table around a pumping well. Overlapping cones from nearby wells can lower each other's water levels. Water, Land and Agriculture: Groundwater, Wells and Water Quality

Confidential source

A person you promised not to identify, usually because they face harm or retaliation. Using AI for Research and Writing: AI Ethics, Disclosure and Privacy Rules

Congressional Review Act (CRA)

A 1996 law, 5 U.S.C. 801 to 808, letting Congress overturn agency rules by joint resolution on a fast track. How Laws and Rules Get Made: The federal process: Congress, agencies, the Federal Register and executive orders

Conjunctive management

Administering connected surface water and groundwater as one supply, by priority across both. Water, Land and Agriculture: One Water: Conjunctive Management and the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer

Consent agenda

A group of routine items approved with one vote. Any board member can pull an item off it for separate discussion. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Following the Money and Testifying on a Budget

Routine items grouped and approved in one vote; any member can pull an item off for separate discussion. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Notice, Agendas and Action Items

Consent order

A settlement in which a company agrees to obligations without admitting the FTC's allegations. The FTC can later reopen and set one aside. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Law and Policy: Rules on AI-Generated Text and Its Labels

Consequential decision

In state AI laws, a decision with major effects on a person, such as hiring, lending, housing, insurance or education. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: AI Law and Regulation as of October 2026

Conservation easement

A recorded restriction, held by a qualified government body or charity, that limits development on land while the owner keeps title. Water, Land and Agriculture: Land Use: Plans, Zoning, Permits and Farmland

Consolidated election dates

The fixed dates in Idaho Code 34-106 on which almost all Idaho elections, from school levies to governor, must be held. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Who Runs Idaho Elections, and When

Constraint

A rule in the prompt that limits the answer, such as length, sources allowed or what to do when unsure. Using AI for Research and Writing: How Prompts Shape AI Answers: Role, Task, Context, Constraints, Format, Examples

Construction permit

NRC authorization to build a reactor at a specific site; a separate operating license is still needed before it can run. Nuclear Power: Small modular and advanced reactors, October 2026

Construction permit (CP)

NRC permission under 10 CFR Part 50 to build a specific reactor at a specific site. An operating license is a separate later step. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Manufacturers and where each stands with regulators

Construction work in progress (CWIP)

A rate practice that lets a utility charge customers for a plant while it is still being built. Nuclear Power: Costs and timelines: Vogtle and the SMR bet

Consumption

Water withdrawn and not returned, mostly lost to evaporation. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Cooling options and water use

Consumptive use

Water withdrawn that is evaporated, transpired by plants or built into crops, and so removed from the local water supply. Water, Land and Agriculture: How Irrigation Works: Canals, Acre-Feet and Efficiency

Water that is used up, mostly by evaporation, and does not return to the stream or aquifer. Idaho Planning and Zoning: How Big Industrial Projects Move Through Planning

Contactor

A heavy-duty switch the BMS opens to disconnect a string or module when a limit is violated. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: The Battery Management System: The Part That Knows Each Cell

Containment

Doors, panels or roofs that enclose a hot or cold aisle to stop the air streams mixing. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Cooling: Air, Water and Liquid to the Chip

Content Credentials

Signed, tamper-evident metadata attached to a file that records how it was made and edited, including AI use. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: AI Images in News and Advocacy: Illustration versus Evidence

Content credentials (C2PA)

Signed, tamper-evident provenance metadata defined by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity. Records the tools and edits behind a file if each tool in the chain writes to it. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Watermarks and Provenance: Marking Machine Text at the Source

Content delivery network (CDN)

A system of servers spread across many places that keeps copies of popular content close to users. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: What a Data Center Is and What It Does

Contested hearing

A trial-like proceeding before an NRC licensing board where people who meet standing rules can challenge an application. Nuclear Power: Who regulates nuclear power and how

Context window

The maximum amount of text, in tokens, a model can take in and work with at one time. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: How Large Language Models Work

The amount of text a model can consider at once, including your prompt, files and the conversation so far. Using AI for Research and Writing: How Prompts Shape AI Answers: Role, Task, Context, Constraints, Format, Examples

Contiguous

Sharing a common border. Under 50-222, a shoestring connection along a road or rail right-of-way does not count. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Areas of City Impact and Annexation

Contribution

Money, a loan or anything of value given to a candidate or committee to influence an election, including in-kind goods and services. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Campaign Finance Basics: Limits, PACs and Dark Money

Contribution in aid of construction

Money a customer pays up front toward facilities built to serve it, so other customers don't carry that cost. Data Center Planning Issues: Ratepayer Protections at the Utility Commission

Control rod

A rod of neutron-absorbing material that is moved in or out of the core to adjust or stop the chain reaction. Nuclear Power: How fission makes heat

Conversational AI service

In Idaho's 2026 act, a publicly accessible AI program that primarily simulates human conversation, with many listed exclusions. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Rules That Limit AI: Idaho's Chatbot Law, the States and the Preemption Fight

Coolant

The fluid (water, gas, liquid metal or molten salt) that carries heat out of the reactor core. Nuclear Power: Reactor types side by side

Coordination (federal land)

The duty in FLPMA for the BLM to keep informed of, consult on and try to stay consistent with local land use plans. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: The Case for Limits, and Who Controls What

Copilot+ PC

A Windows 11 computer with a neural processing unit that meets Microsoft's requirements for on-device AI features such as Recall. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: AI You Did Not Ask For: Copilot, Recall, Search and Phone Defaults

Corpus-level estimate

A statistical estimate of how much of a large collection of documents has some property, without claiming to know which individual documents have it. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: The Tells: Word Choice, Habits and Invented Facts

Cost of service study

The utility analysis that divides the total cost of running the system among customer classes. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: The Grid Side: Queues, Tariffs and Who Pays

A utility analysis that divides the cost of running the system among customer classes, which then shapes each class's rates. Data Center Planning Issues: Ratepayer Protections at the Utility Commission

Cost per induced job

Total incentive cost divided by the number of jobs the incentive actually caused, not the number promised. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Does It Work? The Evidence For and Against

Cost per job

Incentive value divided by jobs created. Say whether it is per year or over the life of the incentive. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Jobs: Construction Crews and Permanent Staff

Cost per kilowatt ($/kW)

Total construction cost divided by electric capacity; the standard way to compare plants of different sizes. Nuclear Power: Costs and timelines: Vogtle and the SMR bet

County abstract

The county auditor's summary of assessed values by category, transmitted to the Tax Commission for equalization and reporting. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Following Property Taxes Year-Round: Calendar, Records and Checks

County clerk

The elected county official who runs elections day to day in Idaho: voter rolls, ballots, polling places, counting and records. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Who Runs Idaho Elections, and When

Covered frontier model

Term in EO 14409 for an AI model whose advanced cyber capabilities pass a threshold set through a classified benchmark run with the NSA. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: The AI Orders: From Revoking EO 14110 to 'Super Intelligence'

Covered platform

Under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, a website or app that mainly hosts user-generated content, which must run a 48-hour takedown process. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Deepfakes and the Law

Covert influence operation

A hidden campaign that uses fake accounts or front outlets to push political messages while concealing who is behind them. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: What AI Detection Is and Why People Care

CPCN

Certificate of public convenience and necessity: Idaho PUC permission for a utility to build a major plant or line as a utility investment. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: The Southern Idaho Build-Out at a Glance

Credit

A reduction printed on the bill, paid by the state or a program, after district taxes are computed. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Reading a Tax Bill and Comparing Years

Criticality

The state where the chain reaction sustains itself at a steady rate. Critical is normal operation, not an emergency. Nuclear Power: How fission makes heat

Cross-reference

A pointer to another section, such as 'as provided in section 34-1807, Idaho Code.' How Laws and Rules Get Made: Reading a bill and a statute

Cube law

The power in moving air rises with the cube of its speed, so small speed gains mean large power gains. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Wind: The Cube Law, Capacity Factors and Siting

Cubic feet per second (cfs)

A flow rate. One cfs is 7.48 gallons passing a point each second. Water, Land and Agriculture: How Irrigation Works: Canals, Acre-Feet and Efficiency

Cubic foot per second (cfs)

A flow rate of one cubic foot of water passing each second, about 448.8 gallons a minute or 646,317 gallons a day. Data Center Planning Issues: Water Planning: City Contracts, Water Rights and Reclaimed Supply

CUE

Carbon usage effectiveness: CO2 emissions from the facility's energy divided by IT equipment energy, in kg CO2 per kWh. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Efficiency Metrics: PUE, WUE and CUE

Cumulative impact cap

A limit on the total land or capacity a county will allow for a use across all projects combined. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Protecting Farmland and Capping Cumulative Impact

Cure

Under 74-208(7), an agency's public acknowledgment of a violation followed by declaring void all actions taken at or resulting from the meeting. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Violations, Cures, Penalties and Key Cases

Cure period

Time a party gets after written notice of a breach to fix it before the other side can pursue remedies. Data Center Planning Issues: Community Benefit Agreements: What They Can and Cannot Enforce

Curtailment

Deliberately reducing wind or solar output below what it could produce, because the grid cannot use or move the power. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Intermittency and Integration: Duck Curves, Curtailment and Firming

IDWR's term for reducing or restricting use of surface or groundwater based on priority date. Water, Land and Agriculture: One Water: Conjunctive Management and the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer

Custodian

The person or office designated to receive public records requests for an agency. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Following the Money and Testifying on a Budget

Cut-in and cut-out speed

The wind speeds at which a turbine starts generating and at which it shuts down to protect itself. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Wind: The Cube Law, Capacity Factors and Siting

D

Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC)

A USDA program that pays dairies when the national milk price minus a feed cost formula falls below a chosen margin. Water, Land and Agriculture: Farm Economics: Markets, Programs, Land Values and Who Owns the Ground

Dark money

Political spending whose original donors are not publicly disclosed, usually because it flows through nonprofits that do not report donors. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Campaign Finance Basics: Limits, PACs and Dark Money

Data broker

A company that collects personal data from apps, websites, public records and other sources and sells or licenses it. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Data Brokers and Police Purchases

Data center

A building or campus built to house networked computers and keep them powered, cooled, connected and secure without interruption. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: What a Data Center Is and What It Does

Data retention

How long a service keeps what you type or upload. Using AI for Research and Writing: AI Ethics, Disclosure and Privacy Rules

Day-ahead market

A market that schedules generation and sets prices for each hour of the next day, before real-time adjustments. How the Power Grid Works: Who Runs the Grid

dBA

Decibels with A-weighting, a scale that discounts low frequencies, roughly matching how people hear quiet sounds. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Land, Noise, Diesel Generators, Light and Traffic

A decibel reading weighted to match human hearing, the usual unit in noise ordinances and permit conditions. Idaho Planning and Zoning: How Big Industrial Projects Move Through Planning

Decibels with A-weighting, which discounts low frequencies roughly the way human hearing does at moderate levels. Data Center Planning Issues: Conditions That Hold Up: Noise, Generators, Water, Light and Bonds

Decibels with A-weighting, which approximates how human ears hear different frequencies. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Setbacks, Height, Noise and Glare Standards

DC-to-AC ratio

Panel capacity divided by inverter capacity. Ratios above 1 squeeze more hours of full output from the inverters. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Solar PV: Cells, Inverters, Rooftops and Fields

DDEX

An industry standards group for music metadata. Spotify supports a DDEX standard for AI credits. AI for Voice and Music: Copyright, Platform Rules and Disclosure for AI Audio

De novo

Latin for 'anew.' A court deciding a legal question de novo gives no deference to the earlier decision maker. How Laws and Rules Get Made: How courts interpret laws and rules

De-annexation

Removing parcels from a revenue allocation area. Their increment returns to the regular tax rolls. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Plans, Amendments and the 20-Year Clock

Deaths per TWh

Deaths from accidents and pollution divided by electricity produced, used to compare energy sources fairly. Nuclear Power: Safety record, accidents and radiation doses

Debt service

The yearly principal and interest payments on debt. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Levies and Bonds: Supplementals, Plant Facilities, Overrides and Debt

Debt service coverage

A bond promise that a utility's net revenue will exceed its annual debt payments by a set margin, such as 1.25 times. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Fees, Impact Fees and Enterprise Funds: Water, Sewer and Growth

Pledged revenue divided by the year's principal and interest. Bond covenants often require a minimum such as 1.25. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: What Agencies Must Report, and Where to Find It

Decay heat

Heat produced by radioactive fission products after a reactor shuts down. Nuclear Power: Idaho's nuclear history

Heat produced by radioactive fission products after a reactor shuts down. It must be removed for days to keep fuel from overheating. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Safety, emergency planning zones and the new NRC rules

Decision

Under 74-202(1), any determination, action, vote or final disposition on a matter requiring a vote, at a meeting with a quorum present. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: What Counts as a Meeting

Decision threshold

The score above which a detector or its user calls a text AI. Raising it lowers false positives and raises misses; lowering it does the reverse. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Accuracy and False Positives: Who Gets Flagged and Why

Declaratory ruling

An agency decision that clarifies how an existing law or rule applies, without writing a new rule. AI for Voice and Music: Voice Cloning Consent and the Law on Voice and Likeness

Decommissioning

Removing a facility's equipment, foundations, roads and wiring and restoring the land at the end of its life or after abandonment. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Decommissioning Plans and Bonds

Decommissioning bond

Financial security posted by an owner so the public can pay for removal and site restoration if the owner abandons the facility. Data Center Planning Issues: Conditions That Hold Up: Noise, Generators, Water, Light and Bonds

Financial security posted with a county so equipment removal and site restoration get paid for even if the owner fails. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Environmental Damage, Cleanup and What a County Can Require

Money or a surety guaranteed up front so a project can be removed and the land restored if the owner fails to do it. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: The Big Solar Question

Deconversion

Turning enriched uranium hexafluoride gas back into a solid form, such as oxide or metal, so it can be made into fuel. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Fuel types and the HALEU supply problem

Dedication

The owner's transfer of streets or other land to public use, made by a certificate on the plat. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Subdivisions, Plats and Impact Fees

Deemed denial

Under Idaho law, a records request not answered within the deadline is treated as denied, which opens the appeal route. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Records to Request and How to Judge a Surveillance Program Fairly

Deep learning

Machine learning with neural networks that have many layers. Behind nearly all modern image, speech and language AI. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: What "AI" Means, and How We Got Here

Deep research mode

A setting in several AI tools that runs many searches over several minutes and returns a long report with citations. Using AI for Research and Writing: Choosing the Right AI Tool for the Job

Deepfake

Realistic synthetic audio, video or images of a real person saying or doing something they did not. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Privacy and Security: Your Prompts, Injection and Deepfakes

Informal name for realistic synthetic video, audio or images of a real person doing or saying something they did not. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Deepfakes and the Law

Default

The setting a product ships with. Most people never change defaults, which is why companies fight over them. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: AI You Did Not Ask For: Copilot, Recall, Search and Phone Defaults

Defense in depth

Layered security, where an intruder must pass several separate barriers to reach the equipment. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Security, Reliability and Why Outages Happen

Defensive firefighting

Tactics that protect surrounding exposures and people from a safe distance instead of attacking the fire directly. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Codes, Standards and How Battery Fires Are Fought

Definitions section

A section near the start of a chapter that fixes the meaning of words 'as used in this chapter.' How Laws and Rules Get Made: Reading a bill and a statute

Deflagration

A fast-burning gas ignition that moves slower than sound but builds pressure; the explosion type seen in battery enclosures. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Failure Modes and Thermal Runaway: Heat, Gas, Fire and Explosion

Deflagration venting

Panels or openings that release the pressure of a gas ignition in a controlled direction; NFPA 68 is the standard for it. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Inside a BESS: Cells to Containers, Inverters to Fire Systems

DeFlock

An open-source, crowdsourced map of plate reader camera locations. DeFlock Idaho is a separate Idaho citizens' group opposed to the cameras. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Plate Readers: Results, Misuse, Courts and Pushback

Dekatherm (Dth)

A unit of gas energy equal to 1 million Btu (1 MMBtu). Roughly 1,000 cubic feet of pipeline gas. Natural Gas Power: Moving gas: pipelines, storage and LNG

Delivery call

A request by senior right holders that the state curtail junior users who are injuring their rights. Water, Land and Agriculture: One Water: Conjunctive Management and the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer

Demand charge

A charge per kW of the customer's highest short-interval draw in the billing period, common for commercial and industrial customers. How the Power Grid Works: How Your Power Bill Is Built

Demo

A prepared showing of a product, usually picked to succeed. Not a test. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Checking an AI Claim: Benchmarks, Demos, Vendors and Records

Demographic differential

A difference in a system's error rates between groups of people. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Bias and Errors: How AI Gets Things Wrong

Denominator

The number you divide by. Choosing the right one (per resident, per household, per year) decides whether a comparison is fair. Using AI for Research and Writing: Analyzing Data with AI, and Checking the Math Yourself

The total a share is measured against; choosing it carefully decides whether a percentage is fair. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Reading a Report Step by Step

Deployer (EU AI Act)

A person, company or public body using an AI system under its authority, except for personal non-professional use. Article 50(4) puts the labeling duties for deepfakes and certain published text on deployers. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Law and Policy: Rules on AI-Generated Text and Its Labels

Deposition

Particles from smoke settling onto soil, plants, water and surfaces downwind. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Environmental Damage, Cleanup and What a County Can Require

Development agreement

A recorded written commitment by an owner about how land will be used, required or allowed as a condition of rezoning under 67-6511A. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Conditional Uses, Variances, PUDs and Development Agreements

A written commitment by an owner or developer, often required as a condition of a rezone, that is recorded and binds later owners (Idaho Code 67-6511A). Data Center Planning Issues: The Approval Path: From Land Option to Switch-On

Development authority

A name some Idaho cities, such as Burley, use for their urban renewal agency. It is the same kind of body under Title 50, Chapter 20. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Urban Renewal in the Magic Valley

Development impact fee

A one-time charge on new development to pay its proportionate share of new public facility capacity, under Idaho Code Title 67, chapter 82. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Fees, Impact Fees and Enterprise Funds: Water, Sewer and Growth

A one-time charge on new development for its proportionate share of system improvements, governed by Idaho Code Chapter 82, Title 67. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Subdivisions, Plats and Impact Fees

Diarization

Labeling which speaker is talking at each point in a transcript. AI for Voice and Music: Voice Studio in Depth

Diff

A mechanical comparison of two texts that marks every insertion and deletion. Using AI for Research and Writing: How AI Handles Budgets, Audits, Transcripts and Bills

Diffusion model

A generator trained to remove noise from images; it creates new images by starting from pure noise and denoising step by step. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: How Image, Audio and Video Generators Work

An image generator trained to remove noise from pictures. It makes new images by denoising random static toward what the prompt describes. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: How Image Generators Work in Practice

Digital forgery (federal)

Under 47 U.S.C. 223(h), an intimate depiction of an identifiable person made or altered with software or AI that a reasonable viewer cannot tell from an authentic one. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Deepfakes and the Law

Digital replica

A realistic computer-generated version of a real person's voice or likeness. AI for Voice and Music: Voice Cloning Consent and the Law on Voice and Likeness

Direct water

Water a data center itself withdraws or evaporates, mostly for cooling. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Energy and Water: What Is Measured and What Is Guessed

Direct-to-chip liquid cooling

Coolant pumped through cold plates mounted on processors, carrying heat away from the hottest parts directly. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Cooling: Air, Water and Liquid to the Chip

Disabled veterans benefit

Under Idaho Code 63-705A, a reduction of up to $1,500 for veterans with a 100 percent service-connected disability or equivalent unemployability rating, with no income test. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Homeowner Relief: The Exemption, the State Credit, the Circuit Breaker and Veterans

Disclaim (in registration)

To identify and exclude AI-generated material from what you claim when registering a copyright. AI for Voice and Music: Copyright, Platform Rules and Disclosure for AI Audio

Disclaimer

The 'paid for by' statement on a political ad that identifies who paid; required by Idaho, federal and FCC rules in different forms. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Following the Money Into Ads, and Describing It Fairly

Disclosure

A statement telling editors, readers or buyers that AI was used and how. Most institutional rules now turn on disclosure. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Detection in Practice: How Institutions Handle Suspected AI Text

Disclosure line

A short note telling the audience how AI was used in a piece and what humans checked. Using AI for Research and Writing: AI Ethics, Disclosure and Privacy Rules

Dispatch

The operator's moment-to-moment orders telling each plant how much to produce. How the Power Grid Works: Balancing Supply and Demand Every Second

Dispatchable

A resource operators can turn up or down on command, such as gas, hydro with storage, geothermal or batteries with charge. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Intermittency and Integration: Duck Curves, Curtailment and Firming

Dissent

An opinion by judges who disagree with the outcome. It explains their view but is not law. How Laws and Rules Get Made: How courts interpret laws and rules

Distribution

The lower-voltage lines, poles and transformers that carry power from substations to homes and businesses. How the Power Grid Works: From Power Plant to Outlet

Docket

The official case file at a utility commission, holding every filing, order and public comment. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: The Grid Side: Queues, Tariffs and Who Pays

The official file number and record for a licensing case; every filing and NRC decision is posted under it. Nuclear Power: Who regulates nuclear power and how

The online file for a rulemaking on regulations.gov, holding the proposal, supporting documents and public comments, identified by a docket ID. How Laws and Rules Get Made: The federal process: Congress, agencies, the Federal Register and executive orders

Docketing

The NRC's formal acceptance of an application as complete enough to review. Review clocks usually start here. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Manufacturers and where each stands with regulators

Documented safety analysis (DSA)

The DOE safety basis document a DOE-authorized reactor needs approved before it can operate; a preliminary version (PDSA) comes first. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Manufacturers and where each stands with regulators

DOME

Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments, an INL test bed in the old EBR-II containment for fueled microreactor tests up to 20 MWt. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: SMR and microreactor work at Idaho National Laboratory

Downblending

Mixing highly enriched uranium with lower-enriched uranium to make fuel below 20 percent U-235, such as HALEU. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: SMR and microreactor work at Idaho National Laboratory

Drone as first responder (DFR)

A program that launches a drone to a 911 call so it arrives before officers and streams video back. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Drones, Camera Networks and Real-Time Crime Centers

Dry cask

A sealed steel canister inside a concrete or steel overpack that stores cooled spent fuel with passive air cooling. Nuclear Power: Spent fuel and nuclear waste

Dry cooling

Rejecting heat to air through finned coils or air-cooled condensers, using almost no water but lowering efficiency, especially on hot days. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Cooling options and water use

Dual-use foundation model

Term in Biden's EO 14110 for large general models that could pose security risks; developers had to report safety test results to the government under the Defense Production Act. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: The AI Orders: From Revoking EO 14110 to 'Super Intelligence'

Duck

To lower one sound, usually music, while another plays, then bring it back. AI for Voice and Music: Worked Example: Inside a 60-Second Podcast Intro

Duck curve

The shape of net load on sunny days: a deep midday dip and a steep evening climb, which looks like a duck's profile. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Intermittency and Integration: Duck Curves, Curtailment and Firming

Due process

The constitutional requirement of fair procedure: notice, a meaningful chance to be heard, and an unbiased decision maker who decides on the record. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Hearings, Due Process and Being Heard

Duration

Energy rating divided by power rating: the hours a system can run at full output. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Batteries and Storage: Power, Energy, Duration and Fire

E

Early-life failure

A failure during construction, commissioning or the first years of operation, often from installation or integration errors. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Failure Modes and Thermal Runaway: Heat, Gas, Fire and Explosion

Economic Development District (EDD)

A multi-county organization designated by the U.S. Economic Development Administration to plan regional economic development and qualify the region for EDA grants. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Regional Development Groups: SIEDO, Frontier and the Chambers

Economic development organization (EDO)

A group, usually a nonprofit, that markets a region to businesses, answers site-selection requests and helps companies through local permits and incentives. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Regional Development Groups: SIEDO, Frontier and the Chambers

EDAM

CAISO's Extended Day-Ahead Market, live since May 1, 2026, which schedules next-day energy across participating balancing areas. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: EDAM, Markets+ and Which Way Idaho Went

Edge data center

A small facility placed close to users or devices to cut delay, often under a few megawatts. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: The Types of Data Centers, Side by Side

Effective date

The date a law or rule starts to apply, which is often months after it is signed. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Checking the Claims and Tracking What Comes Next

Effective tax rate

The net tax bill divided by the property's market value. It allows comparison across places with different assessment rules and levy systems. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Comparing Property Tax Burdens Honestly

ELCC (effective load-carrying capability)

The share of a resource's capacity that counts toward reliability during the hours when shortages are most likely. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Intermittency and Integration: Duck Curves, Curtailment and Firming

Election-day registration

Registering and voting on the same day at the polling place, which Idaho allows with proof of identity and residence. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Registering, ID and Absentee Voting in Idaho

Electioneering communication

A communication about candidates in an election. Idaho's synthetic media section uses the term without defining it there. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: AI Law and Regulation as of October 2026

In Idaho, a communication that unambiguously refers to a candidate within 30 days before a primary or 60 days before a general election, reaching that candidate's voters. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Campaign Finance Basics: Limits, PACs and Dark Money

Electric cooperative

A nonprofit utility owned by its members, governed by an elected board. How the Power Grid Works: Who Runs the Grid

Electrolysis

Using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Hydrogen, Emerging Options and How to Judge a New Energy Claim

Electronic monitoring (workplace)

An employer's tracking of workers' email, phone, internet, location, keystrokes or productivity with software or devices. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Private Surveillance: Doorbells, Partnerships and the Workplace

Eligibility report

The study, usually by a consultant, that documents the conditions the council relies on to find an area deteriorated or deteriorating. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Plans, Amendments and the 20-Year Clock

Embodied emissions

Emissions released making and installing equipment, before it produces anything. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Lifecycle Impacts: Mining, Manufacturing, Recycling and Emissions per kWh

Emergency clause

Language declaring an emergency so an act can take effect earlier than the default date. How Laws and Rules Get Made: From RS number to session law

Emergency moratorium

A temporary halt on certain permits under 67-6523, based on a written finding of imminent peril, lasting no more than 182 days. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Moratoriums, and the Limits on Public Land

Emergency planning zone (EPZ)

The area around a nuclear plant where officials plan protective actions such as sheltering or evacuation. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Safety, emergency planning zones and the new NRC rules

Emergency stationary engine

A backup generator permitted to run without limit only during real emergencies, with capped hours for testing. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Land, Noise, Diesel Generators, Light and Traffic

A backup generator engine that federal rules limit mainly to emergencies plus a capped number of testing hours. Idaho Planning and Zoning: How Big Industrial Projects Move Through Planning

Enclave

Land surrounded by a city. Current law lets a city annex residential enclaves of 30 or fewer privately owned parcels without the consent process. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Areas of City Impact and Annexation

Encumbrance

A spending commitment the campaign has made but not yet paid, which Idaho reports must include. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Idaho Sunshine Law Reports

End card

The last few seconds of a video with credits, sources, disclosures and where to learn more. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Worked Case: Anatomy of a 30-Second AI-Assisted Explainer

Endowment land

Land granted to Idaho at statehood and managed by the State Board of Land Commissioners to earn money for public schools and other beneficiaries. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: The Case for Limits, and Who Controls What

State land held in trust to earn money for schools and other beneficiaries, managed in Idaho by the Department of Lands. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: How Lava Ridge Could Come Back

Energy charge

The per-kWh price for the electricity used. How the Power Grid Works: How Your Power Bill Is Built

Energy Facility Siting Council

Oregon's board that issues site certificates for large energy facilities, including B2H's Oregon segment. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: Hemingway: Boardman to Hemingway and Gateway West

Energy management system (EMS)

Site software that decides when to charge and discharge and talks to the grid operator, the PCS and the BMS. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Inside a BESS: Cells to Containers, Inverters to Fire Systems

Energy rating (MWh)

How much electricity a storage system holds when full. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Batteries and Storage: Power, Energy, Duration and Fire

Engrossed bill

A bill reprinted with adopted amendments folded into the text. Using AI for Research and Writing: How AI Handles Budgets, Audits, Transcripts and Bills

Enhanced geothermal system (EGS)

An engineered reservoir: wells drilled into hot rock, fractures opened, and water circulated to carry heat up. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Geothermal: Conventional Plants and Enhanced Systems

Enhanced use lease

A long-term lease of underused military land to a private party under 10 U.S.C. 2667, often paid in cash or in services to the base. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Data Centers on Federal Land: EO 14318, DOE Sites, Army Bases and the Ratepayer Pledge

Enrichment

Raising the share of U-235 in uranium above the natural 0.7 percent, usually by spinning uranium hexafluoride gas in centrifuges. Nuclear Power: The fuel cycle: from ore to fuel rod

Enrolled bill

The final, checked copy of a bill passed by both chambers, signed by the presiding officers and sent to the governor. How Laws and Rules Get Made: From RS number to session law

Enterprise fund

A fund for a service run like a business and paid mostly by user charges, such as water or sewer. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Funds, Budget Books and Audits: Reading the Documents

Entitlement

The approvals, such as zoning and site plan, that give a landowner the legal right to build a project. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Site Selection, Construction and Jobs

Environmental impact statement (EIS)

The detailed analysis required by the National Environmental Policy Act for major federal actions that may significantly affect the environment. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: Lava Ridge: What Was Approved and How It Was Stopped

EPRI

The Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit research organization funded largely by utilities. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: The Fire Record: Notable BESS Fires and Where the List Lives

ESPAM

The Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Model. IDWR used version 2.2 in 2026 to estimate how pumping affects river reaches and springs. Water, Land and Agriculture: One Water: Conjunctive Management and the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer

Evaporative cooling

Cooling by evaporating water into air, which removes heat but consumes water. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Cooling: Air, Water and Liquid to the Chip

Cooling that removes heat by evaporating water, usually in cooling towers. Efficient on power, heavy on water. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Water: Cooling, Aquifers and Reclaimed Supply

Evidence log

A dated list of every record, screenshot and recording you collected, where it came from and when. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Documenting and Reporting a Suspected Violation

Evidence table

A list of every fact a document relies on, with the record and page it comes from. Using AI for Research and Writing: What AI Writing Assistants Do to Your Text

Ex parte communication

Contact about a pending quasi-judicial matter between a decision maker and one side, outside the hearing. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Hearings, Due Process and Being Heard

Ex parte contact

Private communication with a decision maker about a pending case outside the hearing. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Public Comment Versus Public Hearings

Excess word

In Kobak et al., a word whose frequency in a given year is far above what the trend from earlier years predicts. Used to estimate how much text was processed with language models. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: The Tells: Word Choice, Habits and Invented Facts

Executive order

A written directive from the president to the executive branch, published in the Federal Register. How Laws and Rules Get Made: The federal process: Congress, agencies, the Federal Register and executive orders

A numbered written directive from the President to federal agencies, published in the Federal Register. It cannot by itself change a statute. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Reading a Presidential Action: Order, Fact Sheet, Plan or Pledge

Executive session

A closed portion of a public meeting allowed only for purposes listed in law, with no final action taken. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Secrecy and Process: Who Is Behind It and How to Find Out

A closed part of a public meeting, allowed only for reasons listed in Idaho Code 74-206 and never for a final decision. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Following the Money and Testifying on a Budget

Exigent circumstances

An emergency exception that lets police act without a warrant when there is no time to get one. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Phones: Cell-Site Simulators, Location Requests and Extraction Tools

Expert system

A rule-based program where human experts write if-then rules by hand. Popular in the 1970s and 1980s. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: What "AI" Means, and How We Got Here

Explainer

A short piece that makes one issue clear: what is changing, why, and what it means for the viewer. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Worked Case: Anatomy of a 30-Second AI-Assisted Explainer

Explosion control

Design measures that either keep gas below flammable levels (ventilation, NFPA 69) or release blast pressure safely (venting panels, NFPA 68). Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Failure Modes and Thermal Runaway: Heat, Gas, Fire and Explosion

Export controls

Government rules that require a license, or forbid it, to ship certain goods or technology to certain countries or buyers. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: What AI Runs On: Chips, Compute and Cost

Exposure

How much of a job's task list overlaps with what AI can do. Not a forecast of job loss. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Jobs and the Economy: What the Research Shows So Far

Expressive input

Your own copyrightable work, such as a drawing, given to an AI tool. It stays yours where it remains perceptible in the output. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Copyright of AI Output and Tool Licensing

Extension

Generating more seconds that continue an existing clip. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: AI Video Generation: Tools, Costs and Limits

Extraction

Copying data from a phone, from a logical copy of user files to a full physical image of the storage. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Phones: Cell-Site Simulators, Location Requests and Extraction Tools

F

Fabricated citation

A reference to a source that does not exist, or a real source that does not say what is claimed. Using AI for Research and Writing: Verifying Everything AI Tells You

A reference to a case, article, book or report that does not exist, or that exists but does not say what the text claims. Language models produce them because they generate plausible text, not retrieved records. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: The Tells: Word Choice, Habits and Invented Facts

Fabrication

Presenting invented people, quotes, events, documents or images as real. Using AI for Research and Writing: AI Ethics, Disclosure and Privacy Rules

Fact sheet

A White House summary released with an action. It is spin as much as summary and has no legal force. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Reading a Presidential Action: Order, Fact Sheet, Plan or Pledge

Factual dispute

A disagreement about what is true or likely, which records, studies or measurement can settle or narrow. Data Center Planning Issues: The Checklist, and the Case For and Against Hosting

Failure rate per deployed GWh

Incidents in a year divided by the cumulative battery capacity installed, a measure of fleet risk. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: The Fire Record: Notable BESS Fires and Where the List Lives

Fair market value

What a good or service would cost to buy on the open market; it is how Idaho values in-kind contributions. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Reading a Report Step by Step

Fair use

A US defense in 17 U.S.C. 107 that allows some unlicensed use of copyrighted work, judged by four factors. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Training Data and Copyright: The Cases So Far

A U.S. copyright doctrine (17 U.S.C. 107) that allows some unlicensed uses, judged on purpose, nature of the work, amount used and market effect. AI for Voice and Music: How AI Music Generation Works

False balance

Presenting two claims as equally supported when the evidence favors one. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: The Case For and the Case Against

False contrast

The 'not X, but Y' move used for effect when nobody claimed X. Using AI for Research and Writing: Recognizing AI Tells in Writing

False match rate (FMR)

How often the system says two different people are the same person at a given threshold. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Facial Recognition: Accuracy, Arrests and Rules

False negative (AI detection)

AI-generated writing wrongly labeled as human. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: What AI Detection Is and Why People Care

False negative rate

The share of AI-written texts that a detector misses and labels human. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Accuracy and False Positives: Who Gets Flagged and Why

False positive

The system says yes when the truth is no, such as a face match to the wrong person. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Bias and Errors: How AI Gets Things Wrong

False positive (AI detection)

Human writing wrongly labeled as AI-generated. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: What AI Detection Is and Why People Care

False positive rate

The share of human-written texts that a detector wrongly flags as AI. The number that decides how many innocent people get accused. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Accuracy and False Positives: Who Gets Flagged and Why

Farm real estate value

USDA's estimate of the value of land and buildings per acre, reported each year in the Land Values Summary. Water, Land and Agriculture: Farm Economics: Markets, Programs, Land Values and Who Owns the Ground

Fast reactor

A reactor with no moderator, so fission is caused by fast neutrons; often cooled by sodium or lead. Nuclear Power: Reactor types side by side

FAST-41

Title 41 of the 2015 Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, which puts large infrastructure projects on a public federal permitting dashboard with coordinated schedules. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Data Centers on Federal Land: EO 14318, DOE Sites, Army Bases and the Ratepayer Pledge

Feature

One input the model uses, such as a price, a date or a word count. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: How Machine Learning Learns

Federal Register

The daily official journal of the federal government, publishing proposed rules, final rules, notices and presidential documents. How Laws and Rules Get Made: The federal process: Congress, agencies, the Federal Register and executive orders

The daily official journal of the federal government, where executive orders, proposed rules, final rules and agency notices are published. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Reading a Presidential Action: Order, Fact Sheet, Plan or Pledge

Fence-line modeling

Air dispersion modeling that estimates pollutant concentrations at a facility's property boundary. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Case Study: Following Project Falcon from Rumor to Hearing

FERC

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates interstate transmission and wholesale electricity sales. How the Power Grid Works: Who Regulates the Grid

Few-shot example

A sample of the output you want, included in the prompt to show the format. Using AI for Research and Writing: How Prompts Shape AI Answers: Role, Task, Context, Constraints, Format, Examples

Field preemption

When federal law occupies a whole subject so completely that states cannot regulate it at all, even without a direct conflict. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Rules That Limit AI: Idaho's Chatbot Law, the States and the Preemption Fight

Final action

A vote or decision that settles a matter. 74-206(3) bars it in executive session. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Executive Sessions, Subsection by Subsection

Final plat

The surveyed, signed drawing approved by the governing board and recorded with the county recorder. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Subdivisions, Plats and Impact Fees

Financial assurance

Security such as a bond, letter of credit or trust fund that guarantees money for decommissioning if the owner does not do it. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Decommissioning Plans and Bonds

Finding of necessity

The resolution under Idaho Code 50-2005 in which a city council or county commission finds that deteriorated or deteriorating areas exist and that an urban renewal agency is needed. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Who Runs Urban Renewal: Agencies and Their Boards

Firm fuel

Gas supply and pipeline capacity contracted so it cannot be cut off when other customers need it, or backup fuel stored on site. Natural Gas Power: The debates: bridge or lock-in, cold snaps, and gas versus storage

Firming

Backing variable output with storage or dispatchable resources so supply is reliable when needed. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Intermittency and Integration: Duck Curves, Curtailment and Firming

Backing up variable sources like wind and solar with resources that can produce on demand, so supply stays reliable. Natural Gas Power: Gas in the grid: share, coal, renewables and data centers

Firmware

The software built into BMS hardware that holds the protection logic and limits. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: The Battery Management System: The Part That Knows Each Cell

First and last frame

A control where the user supplies the opening and closing images and the model invents the motion between them. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: AI Video Generation: Tools, Costs and Limits

First-of-a-kind (FOAK)

The first units of a new design, which carry design completion, supply chain setup and learning costs. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Projects planned, deals signed and the cost record

Fiscal impact statement

A statement of a measure's cost prepared by the Division of Financial Management, which circulators must offer to signers. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Ballot initiatives and referendums in Idaho

Fiscal year

The twelve-month accounting year a government budgets for. October 1 for Idaho cities and counties, July 1 for school districts. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: The Budget Cycle: From Department Requests to a Certified Levy

Fission

The splitting of a heavy atomic nucleus, such as uranium-235, into two lighter nuclei, which releases energy and a few neutrons. Nuclear Power: How fission makes heat

Fit-out

Installing the electrical, mechanical and IT systems inside a finished shell. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Site Selection, Construction and Jobs

Flash plant

A plant that drops the pressure on very hot water so part of it flashes to steam that spins a turbine. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Geothermal: Conventional Plants and Enhanced Systems

Flow battery

A battery that stores energy in liquid electrolytes held in tanks and pumped through a cell stack. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Battery Chemistries: LFP, NMC, Sodium-Ion, Flow and the Rest

FLPMA

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, which governs BLM land planning and rights-of-way. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Moratoriums, and the Limits on Public Land

FOAK and NOAK

First-of-a-kind and nth-of-a-kind: the first units of a design versus later ones built after learning. Nuclear Power: Costs and timelines: Vogtle and the SMR bet

Footing

Adding up a column yourself to check it matches the printed total. Using AI for Research and Writing: How AI Handles Budgets, Audits, Transcripts and Bills

Forfeiture

Loss of a water right through nonuse. In Idaho, five years of nonuse unless an exception or extension applies. Water, Land and Agriculture: First in Time: How Western Water Rights Work

Forgone amount

Budget authority a district chose not to use in a year. If reserved by resolution, it can be recovered later under limits. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Idaho's 3 Percent Cap, New Construction and Forgone Balances

Forgone balance

Unused budget authority a district has reserved by resolution and may recover in later years within limits. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Following Property Taxes Year-Round: Calendar, Records and Checks

Form 10-K

The annual report public companies file with the SEC, including business descriptions, risks and financial statements. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: The Companies and Agencies Behind the Lines

Form 3

The FEC report of receipts and disbursements filed by U.S. House and Senate candidate committees. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Federal Reports: FEC Filings, Schedules and Super PACs

Form 3X

The FEC report filed by PACs, Super PACs and party committees. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Federal Reports: FEC Filings, Schedules and Super PACs

Form letter

Identical comments submitted by many people. Agencies often group them and treat them as one comment. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Giving testimony and comments that count

Frequency regulation

Second-by-second adjustments in output that keep the grid's alternating current at its target frequency, 60 hertz in North America. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: What Grid Batteries Do and Who Pays Them

Frontier model

One of the most capable models available at a given time, usually from a handful of well-funded labs. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Who Makes What: Model Families as of October 2026, and a Working Glossary

One of the most capable general AI models at a given time. California's SB 53 defines it by training compute above 10^26 operations. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: AI Safety and Risk: Who Argues What

Fuel adjustment clause

A rate mechanism that lets a utility pass actual fuel and purchased power costs through to customers, up or down, outside a full rate case. Natural Gas Power: Prices and volatility: Henry Hub, basis and your power bill

Fuel card

A payment card issued to a government vehicle or employee for buying fuel, usually with a transaction log. Using AI for Research and Writing: Worked Case: From Records Request to Verified Findings

Fuel salt

A molten salt with uranium dissolved in it, so the fuel is liquid and also carries heat. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Fuel types and the HALEU supply problem

Fully appropriated

A source where existing rights already claim all reliably available water, so new rights would rarely be satisfied. Water, Land and Agriculture: New Claims on Old Water: Data Centers, Energy and Farmland

Functional equivalent test

An approach used by courts in some states to decide whether a private body doing government work should be treated as a public agency. No Idaho appellate decision adopting it was found for this lesson. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Open Meetings, Public Records and Following the Money

Fund

A separate set of accounts for money with a specific purpose or legal restriction. Governments keep many funds instead of one checking account. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Funds, Budget Books and Audits: Reading the Documents

Fund balance

What is left in a fund after liabilities: the government's savings for that fund, split into categories by how freely it can be spent. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Funds, Budget Books and Audits: Reading the Documents

Future land use map

The map required in the land use component showing suitable projected uses. It guides zoning but does not zone land by itself. Idaho Planning and Zoning: The Comprehensive Plan: Components and Amendments

G

g CO2e per kWh

Grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour: all greenhouse gases converted to CO2's warming effect, divided by lifetime output. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Lifecycle Impacts: Mining, Manufacturing, Recycling and Emissions per kWh

Gateway West

A long-planned set of 500 kV segments from Wyoming across southern Idaho to Midpoint and Hemingway, jointly proposed by Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: Hemingway: Boardman to Hemingway and Gateway West

Gathering line

Small, lower-pressure pipe that carries raw gas from wells to a processing plant or a larger line. Natural Gas Power: Moving gas: pipelines, storage and LNG

General adjudication

A court case that determines every water right in a basin at once, producing decrees that list each right's elements. Water, Land and Agriculture: Who Runs Idaho Water: IDWR, the Board and the Adjudications

General fund

The main operating fund for things without a dedicated revenue source, such as police, administration and parks. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Funds, Budget Books and Audits: Reading the Documents

General obligation bond

Debt backed by the government's power to levy property tax. The bond levy appears on tax bills until the debt is paid. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Levies and Bonds: Supplementals, Plant Facilities, Overrides and Debt

General provisions

The closing section of an executive order saying it must follow existing law, depends on funding, and creates no enforceable rights. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Reading a Presidential Action: Order, Fact Sheet, Plan or Pledge

General purpose AI model

EU AI Act term for models like large language models that can do many tasks; providers have transparency duties since August 2025. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: AI Law and Regulation as of October 2026

Generation share

A source's portion of total electricity actually produced over a period, measured in MWh, not capacity. Natural Gas Power: Gas in the grid: share, coal, renewables and data centers

Generative AI

AI that produces new content such as text, images, audio, video or code. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: The Kinds of AI and What Each Is For

Genesis Mission

A DOE-led effort created by EO 14363 (November 2025) to apply AI to scientific discovery using national lab data and computing on a shared platform. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: The AI Orders: From Revoking EO 14110 to 'Super Intelligence'

Geofence warrant

A warrant asking a company for devices recorded inside a drawn area during a time window. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Phones: Cell-Site Simulators, Location Requests and Extraction Tools

Geologic repository

A deep underground facility designed to isolate radioactive waste for thousands of years. Nuclear Power: Spent fuel and nuclear waste

Germane committee

The committee whose subject area covers a bill or rule. It is the body that hears testimony on it. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Giving testimony and comments that count

Gift clause

Shorthand for Idaho Constitution Article VIII, section 4 and Article XII, section 4, which bar local governments from lending credit to, or donating to, private corporations. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Open Meetings, Public Records and Following the Money

Go-between

A staff member or member who carries positions from one official to the next so the board never gathers. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: What Counts as a Meeting

Going concern doubt

A statement in financial reports that a company may not have the money to keep operating for the next year. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: The Cassia County Data Center Proposal

Good-faith exception

A rule that evidence is not suppressed when officers reasonably relied on a warrant or law later found invalid. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: The Fourth Amendment in Eight Cases

Governing board

The statute's name for the city council or the board of county commissioners. Idaho Planning and Zoning: The Planning Act and Who Decides

Governing body

The members of a public agency with two or more members and authority to make decisions for, or recommendations to, a public agency. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Who the Law Covers

GPU

Graphics processing unit. A chip with thousands of small cores that do math in parallel; now the main workhorse for AI. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: What AI Runs On: Chips, Compute and Cost

Graphics processing unit: a chip with thousands of small cores that does the parallel math behind AI. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Inside the Building: White Space, Racks, Servers and GPUs

Gradient descent

The training method that nudges every weight a small step in the direction that lowers the loss, over and over. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Neural Networks and Deep Learning in Plain Words

Gray space

The rooms and yards that hold power and cooling equipment supporting the IT. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Inside the Building: White Space, Racks, Servers and GPUs

Green list

In the Kirchenbauer et al. watermark, the share of the vocabulary that a hash of the previous token marks as favored for the next position. Watermarked text uses green tokens far more often than chance. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Watermarks and Provenance: Marking Machine Text at the Source

Ground truth

A known-correct answer set you can score an AI system's output against. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Checking an AI Claim: Benchmarks, Demos, Vendors and Records

Grounding

Tying a model's answer to specific sources, such as search results or your own documents, put in its context. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Why Chatbots Make Things Up, and What Fixes Help

GWP (global warming potential)

How much heat a gas traps over a set period compared with the same mass of CO2. GWP-100 and GWP-20 use 100- and 20-year windows. Natural Gas Power: Emissions: CO2, methane leaks, NOx and air permits

H

HALEU

High-assay low-enriched uranium, enriched to between 5 and 20 percent U-235, needed by many advanced reactors. Nuclear Power: The fuel cycle: from ore to fuel rod

High-assay low-enriched uranium, enriched between 5 percent and less than 20 percent U-235. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Fuel types and the HALEU supply problem

Hallucination

When an AI model states something false or invented as if it were true. Also called confabulation. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Why Chatbots Make Things Up, and What Fixes Help

A confident AI output that is false or not supported by its source, such as an invented quote or citation. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Bias and Errors: How AI Gets Things Wrong

A confident AI output that is false or unsupported, such as an invented citation, quote or number. Using AI for Research and Writing: Verifying Everything AI Tells You

Hammer line

A short punchy sentence ending a section. Effective once; a tic when every section has one. Using AI for Research and Writing: Recognizing AI Tells in Writing

Hard sign

Evidence that is very hard to explain except by machine generation, such as text addressed to a chatbot user, interface artifacts, or invented citations. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Judging a Claim That Something Was Written by AI

Harmonization

Reworking many LCA studies to shared assumptions so their results can be compared. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Lifecycle Impacts: Mining, Manufacturing, Recycling and Emissions per kWh

Hazard mitigation analysis

An engineering study of how a storage system can fail and what design features limit the harm. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Fire and Battery Storage Safety Standards

Hazard mitigation analysis (HMA)

An engineering analysis of how a system can fail and how the design limits the consequences; the default for most systems in the 2026 NFPA 855. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Codes, Standards and How Battery Fires Are Fought

Head

The height the water falls between the reservoir surface and the turbine. More head means more energy per gallon. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Hydropower: Dams, Rivers and Water Years

Hearing examiner

A trained planner, engineer, architect or attorney appointed under 67-6520 to hear certain applications in place of the commission. Idaho Planning and Zoning: The Planning Act and Who Decides

Heat pipe

A sealed tube containing a fluid that evaporates at the hot end and condenses at the cold end, moving heat without pumps. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: SMR types and what each one is for

Heat rate

Btu of fuel burned per kWh of electricity produced. Lower is more efficient. Natural Gas Power: Turning gas into power: turbines, combined cycle and engines

The fuel a plant burns per kilowatt-hour it makes, in Btu per kWh; lower is more efficient. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: The Cassia County Data Center Proposal

Hedonic study

A statistical method that estimates how one feature, such as distance to a solar farm, affects sale prices while controlling for other features. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Protecting Farmland and Capping Cumulative Impact

Henry Hub

A pipeline hub in Louisiana whose price is the main US benchmark for natural gas. Natural Gas Power: Prices and volatility: Henry Hub, basis and your power bill

Heteronym

A word spelled one way but pronounced two ways with different meanings, like lead, live, read or wind. AI for Voice and Music: How Synthetic Voices Read a Script

High-risk AI system

Under the EU AI Act, an AI system in a listed sensitive use, such as hiring, credit or critical infrastructure, that must meet testing and documentation rules. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: AI Law and Regulation as of October 2026

High-temperature gas reactor (HTGR)

A reactor cooled by helium gas, usually with graphite moderator and TRISO fuel, able to produce very hot outlet gas. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: SMR types and what each one is for

Historical consumptive use

The water a right actually removed from the system through crop use or evaporation in the past, often the key number in a transfer. Water, Land and Agriculture: New Claims on Old Water: Data Centers, Energy and Farmland

History note

The bracketed line at the end of an Idaho Code section listing when it was added and amended, by session law chapter and page. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Reading a bill and a statute

Holding

The court's actual decision on the legal question before it, the part that binds later cases. How Laws and Rules Get Made: How courts interpret laws and rules

Holding company

A parent company that owns one or more operating utilities and often other businesses. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: The Companies and Agencies Behind the Lines

Homeowner exemption

In Idaho, the part of a primary residence's value that is not taxed: 50 percent of value or $125,000, whichever is less. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Property Tax Math: Value, Exemptions, Levy Rates and Your Bill

Under Idaho Code 63-602G, the lesser of $125,000 or 50 percent of the value of an owner-occupied primary residence and up to one acre is exempt from property tax. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Homeowner Relief: The Exemption, the State Credit, the Circuit Breaker and Veterans

Homeowner Property Tax Relief (HTR)

A state-funded credit on the bills of exempt homesteads, created by HB 292 in 2023 and paid from a state account under Idaho Code 63-724. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Homeowner Relief: The Exemption, the State Credit, the Circuit Breaker and Veterans

Horizontal drilling

Drilling down, then bending the well to run sideways through the gas-bearing layer, so far more of the well touches productive rock. Natural Gas Power: What natural gas is and where it comes from

Hot aisle/cold aisle

A layout where racks face each other so cool intake air and hot exhaust air stay in separate aisles. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Cooling: Air, Water and Liquid to the Chip

Hotlist

A list of plates of interest loaded into an ALPR system. A read that matches triggers an alert. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: How License Plate Readers Work

House Joint Memorial

A resolution of the Idaho Legislature addressed to Congress or federal officials; it states a position but has no force of law. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: Lava Ridge: What Was Approved and How It Was Stopped

Human authorship

The U.S. requirement that a work have a human author to be protected by copyright. AI for Voice and Music: Copyright, Platform Rules and Disclosure for AI Audio

Human authorship requirement

The rule that U.S. copyright protects only expression created by a human being. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Copyright of AI Output and Tool Licensing

The rule, confirmed in Thaler v. Perlmutter, that the Copyright Act protects only work authored in the first instance by a human being. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Law and Policy: Rules on AI-Generated Text and Its Labels

Humanizer

A tool that rewrites AI text to avoid detection, usually by paraphrasing and adding variation. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: How AI Text Detectors Work

A tool or service that rewrites AI-generated text to evade detectors, usually by paraphrasing, varying sentence length and swapping vocabulary. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Accuracy and False Positives: Who Gets Flagged and Why

A tool that rewrites AI-generated text to evade AI detectors, usually by paraphrasing and varying word choice and rhythm. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Judging a Claim That Something Was Written by AI

Hybrid meeting

A meeting with some members and the public in a room and other members joining remotely. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Remote and Electronic Meetings

Hydraulic fracturing

Pumping fluid at high pressure into rock to crack it, with sand (proppant) to hold the cracks open. Often called fracking. Natural Gas Power: What natural gas is and where it comes from

Hydrogen fluoride (HF)

A toxic, corrosive gas formed when the fluorinated salt in lithium-ion electrolyte burns or breaks down. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Environmental Damage, Cleanup and What a County Can Require

Hydrothermal resource

Naturally hot, permeable rock that already holds water or steam, the kind conventional geothermal plants tap. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Geothermal: Conventional Plants and Enhanced Systems

Hyperscale

Very large data centers, usually tens to hundreds of megawatts, built and run by the biggest cloud and internet companies. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: The Types of Data Centers, Side by Side

Hyperscaler

One of the handful of companies that run cloud and internet services at the largest scale, such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Meta. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Who Builds Data Centers, and Why Now

One of the largest cloud and technology companies that build and run very large data centers. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: Data Centers in Idaho: Built, Proposed and Stalled

I

Idaho Administrative Bulletin

The monthly publication of rulemaking notices, proposed and pending rules, temporary rules and executive orders. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Idaho administrative rules

Idaho Water Resource Board

A board that does state water planning, funds projects and runs programs like managed aquifer recharge. IDWR staff support it. Water, Land and Agriculture: Who Runs Idaho Water: IDWR, the Board and the Adjudications

IDWR

Idaho Department of Water Resources, the state agency that issues permits and licenses, processes transfers and administers rights by priority. Water, Land and Agriculture: Who Runs Idaho Water: IDWR, the Board and the Adjudications

IEEPA

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 and following), which lets a President regulate transactions to deal with an unusual and extraordinary foreign threat after declaring an emergency. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: The Energy Orders: Emergency, Dominance, Coal, Nuclear and the Grid

Image-to-video

Generating motion from a starting still image, usually with a prompt describing the movement. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: AI Video Generation: Tools, Costs and Limits

Immersion cooling

Submerging servers in a non-conductive fluid that absorbs heat. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Cooling: Air, Water and Liquid to the Chip

Imminently likely litigation

A dispute not yet in court but close enough to filing to justify a closed session with counsel under 74-206(1)(f). Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Executive Sessions, Subsection by Subsection

Impactful outage

Uptime Institute's term for an outage with significant effects on services, customers or finances. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Security, Reliability and Why Outages Happen

Impersonation

On streaming platforms, releasing music with a cloned or imitated voice of a real artist without permission. AI for Voice and Music: Copyright, Platform Rules and Disclosure for AI Audio

Impersonation comment

A public comment submitted under a real person's name without their knowledge. Verifying identity catches it; reading style does not. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Judging a Claim That Something Was Written by AI

Implied consent

Consent to annexation the law infers from a city water or sewer connection requested in writing before July 1, 2024, or completed before July 1, 2008. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Areas of City Impact and Annexation

Increment value

The amount by which properties in the area are worth more than their base values. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Urban Renewal and Tax Increment Financing in Idaho

Indefeasible entitlement

A capacity right that cannot be taken away; Idaho Power's certificate covers one for 250 MW northbound. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: SWIP-N: Who Owns It, Who Runs It, Who Pays

Independent expenditure

Spending on a communication that expressly urges a vote for or against a candidate or measure, made without coordination with the campaign. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Campaign Finance Basics: Limits, PACs and Dark Money

Independent public body corporate and politic

The legal status of an urban renewal agency: a public entity separate from the city that created it, acting for the state's urban renewal purposes. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Who Runs Urban Renewal: Agencies and Their Boards

Indexing

Adjusting values of properties not physically appraised that year by a factor drawn from sales and appraisal results. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: How Idaho Assesses Property: Market Value, Mass Appraisal and Ratio Studies

Indirect and induced jobs

Jobs at suppliers (indirect) and jobs supported by workers spending their pay (induced), estimated by economic models. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Jobs: Construction Crews and Permanent Staff

Indirect water

Water used at power plants to make the electricity the data center buys. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Energy and Water: What Is Measured and What Is Guessed

Induced job

A job that exists only because of the incentive. The opposite of a job the company would have created anyway. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Does It Work? The Evidence For and Against

Induced seismicity

Earthquakes triggered by human activity such as injecting fluids underground. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Geothermal: Conventional Plants and Enhanced Systems

Inertia

The energy stored in spinning generators that resists sudden changes in grid frequency. How the Power Grid Works: Balancing Supply and Demand Every Second

INES

The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, which rates events from 0 to 7. Chernobyl and Fukushima are both level 7. Nuclear Power: Safety record, accidents and radiation doses

Inference

Running an already trained model to answer a prompt. Happens every time someone uses it. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: What AI Runs On: Chips, Compute and Cost

Initiative

A law proposed by citizens through a petition and enacted, or rejected, by voters at a general election. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Ballot initiatives and referendums in Idaho

Inpainting

Regenerating only a masked part of an image while keeping the rest unchanged. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Editing, Consistency and Upscaling

Instruction tuning

Extra training that teaches a base model to follow requests and answer in a preferred way, often using human ratings. It produces the familiar chatbot voice. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: How Machines Write, and Why It Leaves Fingerprints

Integrated loudness

The average loudness of a whole piece in LUFS, measured the way ears hear and skipping silences. AI for Voice and Music: Worked Example: Inside a 60-Second Podcast Intro

Integrated resource plan (IRP)

A long-range utility plan, usually 20 years, showing forecast demand and the plants, lines and programs to meet it. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: The Grid Side: Queues, Tariffs and Who Pays

A utility's long-term plan, often 20 years, forecasting demand and choosing the mix of resources to meet it. How the Power Grid Works: Reliability and the Grid's Future

A utility's long-range forecast of demand and its preferred mix of resources to meet it, filed with the PUC for acknowledgment. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: Data Centers in Idaho: Built, Proposed and Stalled

Interconnection

A large region whose generators all run in step at the same frequency. The U.S. has three: Eastern, Western and ERCOT. How the Power Grid Works: From Power Plant to Outlet

A large synchronized grid. The lower 48 has three: Eastern, Western and ERCOT, linked to each other only by limited ties. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: Three Grids, Seven Market Operators, and a West That Never Joined

Interconnection queue

The line of projects waiting for a utility or grid operator to study and approve a connection to the grid. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: The Grid Side: Queues, Tariffs and Who Pays

The line of proposed generation and storage projects waiting for studies and approval to connect to the grid. How the Power Grid Works: Reliability and the Grid's Future

The utility's waiting list of generators asking to connect to its grid, with study milestones and a status for each request. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: The Southern Idaho Build-Out at a Glance

Interim

The months between sessions, when interim committees study issues and agencies prepare rules for the next session. How Laws and Rules Get Made: The Idaho Legislature: who, when and where

Interim moratorium

A temporary halt under 67-6524 while a plan or amendment is prepared, up to one calendar year, adopted with notice and hearing. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Moratoriums, and the Limits on Public Land

Internet exchange point (IXP)

A place where many networks connect and hand traffic to each other directly. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: What a Data Center Is and What It Does

Intervenor

A person or group granted formal party status in a utility commission case, allowed to file testimony and question witnesses. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Case Study: Following Project Falcon from Rumor to Hearing

A party formally admitted to a regulatory case, with the right to file testimony, ask questions and sign or oppose settlements. How the Power Grid Works: Who Regulates the Grid

A person or organization granted formal party status in a utility commission case, with the right to file testimony and question witnesses. Data Center Planning Issues: Ratepayer Protections at the Utility Commission

A party granted formal standing in a PUC case, with the right to file testimony, ask written questions and cross-examine. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: The Advocacy Groups and How They Work Idaho Government

Intervenor funding

A PUC award under Idaho Code 61-617A paying part of a qualifying intervenor's costs, charged to the class it represented. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: The Advocacy Groups and How They Work Idaho Government

Money the Idaho PUC can award to customer groups that take part in a case and contribute to the result, paid by the utility. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: Elmore County and the Rest of the Magic Valley

Intervention

Becoming a formal party in a utility commission case, with the right to file testimony; open to governments and groups as well as companies. Data Center Planning Issues: The Checklist, and the Case For and Against Hosting

Inverse condemnation

A lawsuit in which an owner claims the government took property without paying for it, and asks for just compensation. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Reconsideration, Judicial Review and Takings

Inverter

Electronics that convert DC from panels into grid-synchronized AC. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Solar PV: Cells, Inverters, Rooftops and Fields

Investor-owned utility (IOU)

A for-profit utility owned by shareholders and regulated by a state commission. How the Power Grid Works: Who Runs the Grid

IPA

The International Phonetic Alphabet, a set of symbols for exact pronunciation. Some newer models accept it inline. AI for Voice and Music: How Synthetic Voices Read a Script

Irrevocable letter of credit

A bank's promise to pay the county on demand up to a set amount, which the owner cannot cancel. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Decommissioning Plans and Bonds

Irrigation district

A public entity formed under state law to deliver irrigation water, governed by an elected board, with power to assess land. Water, Land and Agriculture: How Irrigation Works: Canals, Acre-Feet and Efficiency

ISFSI

Independent spent fuel storage installation, the NRC term for a licensed dry cask storage site. Nuclear Power: Spent fuel and nuclear waste

Independent spent fuel storage installation, the NRC term for a licensed dry cask storage pad. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Spent fuel, on-site storage and Idaho's limits

Isotope

A version of an element with a different number of neutrons. U-235 and U-238 are both uranium but behave differently in a reactor. Nuclear Power: How fission makes heat

Itemized contribution

A gift listed individually with the donor's name, address and amount, required in Idaho when a donor's total exceeds $50. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Idaho Sunshine Law Reports

Iteration

Improving an answer by replying with specific corrections instead of starting over. Using AI for Research and Writing: How Prompts Shape AI Answers: Role, Task, Context, Constraints, Format, Examples

J

Job-year

One person employed full-time for one year. Two years of work by 500 people is 1,000 job-years. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Jobs: Construction Crews and Permanent Staff

Joint memorial

A formal message from the Idaho Legislature to Congress or the President asking for federal action. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: The Advocacy Groups and How They Work Idaho Government

JSONL

A text file with one JSON record per line, easy for programs to read back and append to. AI for Voice and Music: Multi-Voice Scripts in Dialogue Editor

Judicial review

The power of courts to decide whether a law or government action conflicts with the constitution or a statute, and to refuse to enforce it if it does. How Laws and Rules Get Made: How courts interpret laws and rules

A district court's review of a land use decision on the record, under Idaho Code Chapter 52, Title 67 and the standards in 67-5279. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Reconsideration, Judicial Review and Takings

Jurisdictional allocation

The split of a multi-state utility's costs among the states it serves before each state sets retail rates. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: How a Transmission Line Gets Into Your Bill

K

Kilowatt-hour (kWh)

A unit of energy: one kilowatt of power used for one hour. What your bill charges for. How the Power Grid Works: Electricity Units: Volts, Watts and Kilowatt-Hours

Kilowatt-hour (kWh) and megawatt-hour (MWh)

Units of stored energy; 1 MWh equals 1,000 kWh. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Sizes: From a Garage Wall to a 1,200 MWh Plant

Knowing violation

Breaking the law while aware of what it requires; carries a higher penalty under 74-208(3). Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Violations, Cures, Penalties and Key Cases

L

L-2 form

The Idaho State Tax Commission form a district uses to certify its property tax budget to the county. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: The Budget Cycle: From Department Requests to a Certified Levy

The Dollar Certification Form each taxing district files to certify the dollars it will raise from property tax. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Following Property Taxes Year-Round: Calendar, Records and Checks

L90

The sound level exceeded 90 percent of the time during a measurement; a common measure of background. Data Center Planning Issues: Conditions That Hold Up: Noise, Generators, Water, Light and Bonds

Label

The right answer for a training example: spam or not, the actual sale price, the real turnout. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: How Machine Learning Learns

LACE

Levelized avoided cost of electricity: EIA's estimate of the value of a new plant's output, based on what it would displace. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: What Energy Costs: LCOE, System Costs and Tax Credits

Land capability class

An NRCS rating from I to VIII of how suitable soil is for field crops; Class I has few limitations, Class II moderate limitations. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Protecting Farmland and Capping Cumulative Impact

Land option

A paid agreement giving a buyer the right, but not the duty, to buy a parcel at a set price within a set time. Data Center Planning Issues: The Approval Path: From Land Option to Switch-On

Large generator interconnection agreement (LGIA)

The contract with the utility setting the terms and upgrades for connecting a large generator to the grid. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: The Big Solar Question

Large load

A single new customer, such as a data center or factory, big enough to change a utility's forecast, often tens to hundreds of MW. How the Power Grid Works: Reliability and the Grid's Future

A single customer whose demand is big enough, often 20 MW or more, to change a utility's planning; data centers and chip plants are examples. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: Data Centers in Idaho: Built, Proposed and Stalled

Large load tariff

A utility rate schedule with special terms, such as minimum bills or long contracts, for customers that need very large amounts of power. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Who Builds Data Centers, and Why Now

Large-load tariff

A rate schedule with special terms for very large new customers, such as minimum bills, long contracts and exit fees. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: The Grid Side: Queues, Tariffs and Who Pays

Latency

The delay between sending a request and getting the first part of the answer, usually measured in milliseconds. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: What a Data Center Is and What It Does

Latent disclosure

Under California's AI Transparency Act, hidden provenance data embedded in AI-generated image, video or audio content, readable by a detection tool. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Law and Policy: Rules on AI-Generated Text and Its Labels

Latent space

A compressed numerical version of an image or sound. Many generators work there because it is far smaller than raw pixels. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: How Image, Audio and Video Generators Work

A compressed numeric version of an image. Most diffusion models do their work there, then decode the result back into pixels. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: How Image Generators Work in Practice

Layer

A row of neurons that all take the same inputs and pass their outputs to the next row. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Neural Networks and Deep Learning in Plain Words

LCOE

Levelized cost of energy: the lifetime cost of building and running a plant divided by the energy it makes, in $/MWh. Natural Gas Power: The debates: bridge or lock-in, cold snaps, and gas versus storage

LCOE (levelized cost of energy)

The constant price per MWh that would recover a plant's capital, financing, operating and fuel costs over its life. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: What Energy Costs: LCOE, System Costs and Tax Credits

Ldn

Day-night average sound level: a 24-hour average in dBA with a 10 dB penalty added to nighttime hours (10 p.m. to 7 a.m.). Natural Gas Power: Safety and local impacts: pipelines, compressors, well sites and land

Leak rate

Methane released to the air (leaks, venting, incomplete flaring) as a share of gas produced. Natural Gas Power: Emissions: CO2, methane leaks, NOx and air permits

Legislative day

A day the chamber actually meets. Introduction deadlines count legislative days, which can differ from calendar days. How Laws and Rules Get Made: The Idaho Legislature: who, when and where

Legislative decision

A decision setting general policy, such as a budget or a plan, where members may hear from anyone. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Public Comment Versus Public Hearings

A decision that sets general policy for many people, such as adopting a plan or rewriting zoning text. Idaho Planning and Zoning: The Planning Act and Who Decides

Legislative format

The way amending bills show changes: added words underlined, removed words struck through. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Reading a bill and a statute

Leq

Equivalent continuous sound level: the steady level with the same energy as the varying sound over a stated period. Data Center Planning Issues: Conditions That Hold Up: Noise, Generators, Water, Light and Bonds

Equivalent continuous sound level: the steady level with the same energy as a fluctuating sound over a set period. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Setbacks, Height, Noise and Glare Standards

Letter of credit

A bank's promise to pay a named party, such as a city, up to a set amount if the developer fails to meet its obligations. Data Center Planning Issues: Community Benefit Agreements: What They Can and Cannot Enforce

A bank's promise to pay a seller if the buyer doesn't, often backed by a cash deposit. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: The Cassia County Data Center Proposal

LEU

Low-enriched uranium, below 20 percent U-235. Commercial reactor fuel is LEU at about 3 to 5 percent. Nuclear Power: The fuel cycle: from ore to fuel rod

Low-enriched uranium, under 20 percent U-235. Commercial light-water reactor fuel is usually under 5 percent. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Fuel types and the HALEU supply problem

Levelized cost

Lifetime cost of a plant divided by lifetime energy produced, expressed in dollars per MWh. Nuclear Power: Costs and timelines: Vogtle and the SMR bet

Levy rate

A district's property tax budget divided by the net taxable value inside it, written as a decimal to nine places. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Property Tax Math: Value, Exemptions, Levy Rates and Your Bill

Levy table

The county's list of every district's certified dollars, taxable value and levy rate, and the total rate for each tax code area. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Following Property Taxes Year-Round: Calendar, Records and Checks

LFP

Lithium iron phosphate, a lithium-ion chemistry that is cheaper and more heat-stable but stores less energy per kilogram than nickel-based types. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Batteries and Storage: Power, Energy, Duration and Fire

Lifecycle assessment (LCA)

An accounting of a product's environmental effects from raw materials through manufacture, use and disposal. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Lifecycle Impacts: Mining, Manufacturing, Recycling and Emissions per kWh

Light water reactor (LWR)

Any reactor cooled and moderated by ordinary water, which includes PWRs and BWRs. Nuclear Power: Reactor types side by side

Light-water reactor (LWR)

A reactor cooled and moderated by ordinary water, either pressurized (PWR) or boiling (BWR). The design of nearly the whole existing U.S. fleet. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: SMR types and what each one is for

Limited work authorization (LWA)

NRC permission to do certain safety-related site work before a construction permit is issued. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Manufacturers and where each stands with regulators

Limiter

A processor that stops audio from going above a set ceiling while letting the rest through. AI for Voice and Music: Worked Example: Inside a 60-Second Podcast Intro

Line edit

Editing at the sentence level: cutting words, fixing rhythm, clarifying. Using AI for Research and Writing: What AI Writing Assistants Do to Your Text

Linear no-threshold (LNT) model

The assumption that cancer risk rises in direct proportion to dose all the way down to zero, with no safe threshold. Nuclear Power: Safety record, accidents and radiation doses

LLUPA

Common shorthand for the Local Land Use Planning Act, Idaho Code Title 67, Chapter 65, adopted in 1975. Idaho Planning and Zoning: The Planning Act and Who Decides

LNG

Liquefied natural gas: gas chilled to about minus 260 degrees F so it shrinks roughly 600 times in volume for shipping by tanker. Natural Gas Power: Moving gas: pipelines, storage and LNG

Load curve

A graph of electricity demand over a day, week or year. How the Power Grid Works: Balancing Supply and Demand Every Second

Load factor

Average demand divided by maximum demand over a period. A steady load has a high load factor. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: How Much Electricity a Data Center Uses

Average use divided by peak use over a period; data centers often run near 90 percent, factories and homes lower. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: Data Centers in Idaho: Built, Proposed and Stalled

Load following

Raising and lowering a plant's output to match changing demand through the day. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: SMR types and what each one is for

Load forecast

A utility's projection of future energy use and peak demand, the starting point for its resource plan. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: How Much Electricity a Data Center Uses

Load shed

Deliberately cutting power to some customers, often in rotating blocks, to keep the wider grid from collapsing. How the Power Grid Works: Reliability and the Grid's Future

Deliberate, controlled power cuts (rolling blackouts) ordered by a grid operator to keep the grid from collapsing. Natural Gas Power: The debates: bridge or lock-in, cold snaps, and gas versus storage

Load-following

Raising and lowering output through the day to track demand and variable renewable output. Natural Gas Power: Gas in the grid: share, coal, renewables and data centers

Local distribution company (LDC)

The gas utility that delivers gas through mains and service lines to homes and businesses. Regulated by the state utility commission. Natural Gas Power: Moving gas: pipelines, storage and LNG

Local Government Registry

The State Controller's central registry under Idaho Code 67-1076, where cities, counties, districts and urban renewal agencies file administrative, budget and debt information by December 1. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: What Agencies Must Report, and Where to Find It

Local model

An AI model that runs on your own computer, so your text does not leave the machine. Using AI for Research and Writing: Choosing the Right AI Tool for the Job

Lock-in

The risk that long-lived gas plants and pipelines keep emissions high for decades or leave customers paying for stranded assets. Natural Gas Power: The debates: bridge or lock-in, cold snaps, and gas versus storage

Log probability

The logarithm of a probability. Adding log probabilities is the same as multiplying the probabilities, which keeps the numbers manageable. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: How Machines Write, and Why It Leaves Fingerprints

Logic and accuracy test

A public pre-election test that runs prepared ballots with a known pattern of votes through the equipment to confirm it counts each race correctly. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Election Security and Audits in Plain Terms

Long pole

The step in a schedule that takes longest and sets the earliest possible finish date. Data Center Planning Issues: The Approval Path: From Land Option to Switch-On

Loss

A number measuring how wrong the model's guesses are. Training tries to make it smaller. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: How Machine Learning Learns

Loss of control

Scenarios in which AI systems act autonomously in ways humans cannot correct or stop. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: AI Safety and Risk: Who Argues What

Lower flammability limit (LFL)

The lowest concentration of a flammable gas in air that can ignite. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Battery Chemistries: LFP, NMC, Sodium-Ion, Flow and the Rest

M

Machine learning

Software that finds patterns in examples (data) instead of following rules a person wrote. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: What "AI" Means, and How We Got Here

Machine-readable marking

A signal embedded in or attached to AI output that software can detect, such as a watermark or metadata, as opposed to a label a person reads. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Law and Policy: Rules on AI-Generated Text and Its Labels

Maintenance and operation (M&O)

Day-to-day school costs such as salaries, utilities and supplies, as opposed to buildings and debt. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Where the Money Goes: Taxing Districts, School Funding and State Relief

Managed aquifer recharge

Deliberately putting surplus surface water into the ground, through canals, basins or wells, to raise aquifer storage. Water, Land and Agriculture: One Water: Conjunctive Management and the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer

Mantrap

A secure vestibule with interlocking doors that admits one verified person at a time. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Security, Reliability and Why Outages Happen

Margin

The difference in votes between the winner and the next candidate, or between yes and no on a measure. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: From Election Night to Certified: Canvass and Recounts

Market dilution

The theory that floods of AI-made works in the same genre can harm the market for originals even without copying them. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Training Data and Copyright: The Cases So Far

Market value for assessment purposes

The assessor's estimate of what a property would sell for, as of January 1 of the tax year. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Property Tax Math: Value, Exemptions, Levy Rates and Your Bill

The assessor's estimate of what a property would sell for on the open market, as of 12:01 a.m. January 1 of the tax year. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: How Idaho Assesses Property: Market Value, Mass Appraisal and Ratio Studies

Markets+

Southwest Power Pool's competing day-ahead and real-time market for the West, targeting October 2027. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: EDAM, Markets+ and Which Way Idaho Went

Mass appraisal

Valuing many properties at once with shared data and models (sales, costs, incomes) instead of a separate appraisal for each one. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: How Idaho Assesses Property: Market Value, Mass Appraisal and Ratio Studies

Material change

A significant change the commission recommends after its hearing, which triggers new notice and another hearing under 67-6509. Idaho Planning and Zoning: The Comprehensive Plan: Components and Amendments

Maximum allowable quantity

The most battery energy allowed in one fire area of a building before it must be built as a high-hazard occupancy. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Sizes: From a Garage Wall to a 1,200 MWh Plant

Maximum contaminant level (MCL)

The highest level of a contaminant EPA allows in public drinking water. Water, Land and Agriculture: Groundwater, Wells and Water Quality

Maximum long term financial return

The Idaho Constitution's standard for managing endowment lands for their beneficiaries, such as public schools. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Moratoriums, and the Limits on Public Land

MDL

Multidistrict litigation. Similar federal cases gathered before one judge for pretrial work. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Training Data and Copyright: The Cases So Far

Media buyer

A firm that buys ad time or space for a campaign and pays the outlets, so the campaign report shows the firm, not the stations. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Following the Money Into Ads, and Describing It Fairly

Median

The middle value when numbers are sorted. Less affected by a few huge values than the average. Using AI for Research and Writing: Analyzing Data with AI, and Checking the Math Yourself

Meeting notice

The posted announcement of a meeting's date, time, place and the agency calling it. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Notice, Agendas and Action Items

Megawatt (MW)

A unit of power: how fast electricity is being used at a given moment. 1 MW is 1,000 kilowatts. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: How Much Electricity a Data Center Uses

Megawatt-hour (MWh)

A unit of energy: one megawatt drawn for one hour. Bills and annual totals use energy units. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: How Much Electricity a Data Center Uses

Mel spectrogram

A picture of sound showing energy at each frequency over time, with frequencies spaced the way human hearing spaces them. AI for Voice and Music: How Synthetic Speech Works

Memorandum of understanding (MOU)

A written agreement between agencies, often covering data sharing, task forces or equipment loans. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Records to Request and How to Judge a Surveillance Program Fairly

A non-binding statement of intent to work together. Not a purchase, order or contract. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Projects planned, deals signed and the cost record

Merchant transmission developer

A company that builds lines and earns revenue by selling capacity, rather than serving retail customers. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: The Companies and Agencies Behind the Lines

Metallic fuel

Uranium alloy (often with zirconium) in metal form, used in sodium fast reactors such as Natrium and EBR-II. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Fuel types and the HALEU supply problem

Methane

CH4, the simplest hydrocarbon and the main ingredient of natural gas. Burned, it makes CO2 and water. Leaked, it is a strong greenhouse gas. Natural Gas Power: What natural gas is and where it comes from

Microreactor

A very small reactor, usually under about 20 MWe, often transportable, aimed at remote sites, bases or industry. Nuclear Power: Small modular and advanced reactors, October 2026

A very small reactor, from a few kilowatts to roughly 20 MWe, often designed to be shipped whole and run for years without refueling. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: What makes a reactor small or modular

Million gallons per day (MGD)

A common unit for municipal and industrial use. 1 MGD equals about 3.069 acre-feet per day. Water, Land and Agriculture: New Claims on Old Water: Data Centers, Energy and Farmland

Millirem (mrem)

A U.S. unit of radiation dose that accounts for biological effect. 100 mrem = 1 millisievert. Nuclear Power: Safety record, accidents and radiation doses

Millisievert (mSv)

The international unit of radiation dose used by most of the world. 1 mSv = 100 mrem. Nuclear Power: Safety record, accidents and radiation doses

Minimum bill (minimum demand charge)

A contract term requiring a customer to pay for a set share of contracted capacity even if it uses less. Data Center Planning Issues: Ratepayer Protections at the Utility Commission

Minutes

The written record of a meeting: who was there, what was proposed, and how each motion came out. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Minutes, Votes and the Right to Record

Mitigation plan

A director-approved plan in which junior ground water users prevent or compensate for injury to senior rights, protecting them from curtailment while they comply. Water, Land and Agriculture: One Water: Conjunctive Management and the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer

MMBtu

One million British thermal units, the standard unit gas is priced in. About 1,000 cubic feet of pipeline gas. Natural Gas Power: Prices and volatility: Henry Hub, basis and your power bill

One million British thermal units, the standard unit for natural gas contracts. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: The Cassia County Data Center Proposal

Mobile device forensic tool (MDFT)

Hardware and software, such as Cellebrite or GrayKey, that copies and analyzes data from a phone. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Phones: Cell-Site Simulators, Location Requests and Extraction Tools

Model family

A line of related models from one company, usually in sizes from small and cheap to large and capable. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Who Makes What: Model Families as of October 2026, and a Working Glossary

Moderator

A material, usually water, heavy water or graphite, that slows neutrons so they are more likely to split U-235. Nuclear Power: How fission makes heat

Modified procedure

An Idaho PUC process that decides a case on written comments without a live hearing. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: Elmore County and the Rest of the Magic Valley

Module

A packaged group of cells with its own sensing, the building block stacked into racks. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Inside a BESS: Cells to Containers, Inverters to Fire Systems

Moratorium (water)

An IDWR order suspending processing of new applications to appropriate water in a stated area. Data Center Planning Issues: Water Planning: City Contracts, Water Rights and Reclaimed Supply

Multi-module plant

A plant made of several identical small reactors sharing one site, control room and support systems. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: What makes a reactor small or modular

Multimodal

A model that handles more than one kind of input or output, such as text plus images or audio. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Who Makes What: Model Families as of October 2026, and a Working Glossary

Municipal code

A city's ordinances organized by subject into titles and chapters, much like the Idaho Code. How Laws and Rules Get Made: City and county lawmaking: ordinances and resolutions

Municipal utility

A utility owned and run by a city or town, overseen by local elected officials. How the Power Grid Works: Who Runs the Grid

Music bed

Background music that sits under narration, usually lowered while someone speaks. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: AI Voice and Music

Music sting

A short, distinctive burst of music that marks the start or end of a segment. AI for Voice and Music: Worked Example: Inside a 60-Second Podcast Intro

MWac and MWdc

Solar capacity measured at the inverter output (AC) or at the panels (DC); the DC figure is larger. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: The Big Solar Question

MWh versus MW

MWh measures how much energy a battery holds; MW measures how fast it can deliver it. Hours of storage equals MWh divided by MW. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Fire and Battery Storage Safety Standards

MWt and MWe

Megawatts thermal (heat made in the core) and megawatts electric (power sent out). MWe is always the smaller number. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: What makes a reactor small or modular

N

N, N+1, 2N

Shorthand for redundancy: N is what the load needs, N+1 adds one spare, 2N is two complete independent systems. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Power Systems: From the Substation to the Server

Nameplate capacity

The maximum output a generator is rated to produce, in MW. How the Power Grid Works: Capacity vs. Energy and Capacity Factor

The maximum rated output of a generator, in megawatts. It says nothing about how often it runs at that level. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Wind: The Cube Law, Capacity Factors and Siting

The maximum rated output of a generator, in kilowatts or megawatts. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Zoning Districts, Overlays and Size Tiers

The maximum output a plant is rated for, in megawatts, before accounting for weather, fuel or outages. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: The Southern Idaho Build-Out at a Glance

Nameplate versus usable energy

Nameplate is the rated capacity; usable is what the system lets you draw after reserving margins at the top and bottom of charge. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Sizes: From a Garage Wall to a 1,200 MWh Plant

Narrow AI

AI built for one task or a small set of tasks, such as translating, transcribing or reading plates. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Narrow vs General, Open vs Closed, Local vs Cloud, and Agents

Narrowly construed

Read as tightly as the words allow; 74-206(2) requires this for every executive session exception. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Executive Sessions, Subsection by Subsection

National Conservation Area

A federally designated area managed by the BLM for specific values; Gateway West segments cross the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: Hemingway: Boardman to Hemingway and Gateway West

National Emergencies Act

The 1976 law (50 U.S.C. 1601 and following) that sets procedures for a President to declare a national emergency and use standby powers in other statutes. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: The Energy Orders: Emergency, Dominance, Coal, Nuclear and the Grid

National Energy Dominance Council

A council in the Executive Office of the President created by EO 14213 to coordinate energy permitting, production and policy. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Who Is Behind It: Officials, Agencies, Companies and Money

National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS)

The original 1949 name of the federal site in eastern Idaho that is now Idaho National Laboratory. Nuclear Power: Idaho's nuclear history

NCA

Lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide, a high-nickel cathode in the same family as NMC. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Battery Chemistries: LFP, NMC, Sodium-Ion, Flow and the Rest

Negative parallelism

Wikipedia editors' name for the construction that sets up a claim only to correct it, as in denying one framing and asserting another. Common in chatbot output and in persuasive human writing. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: The Tells: Word Choice, Habits and Invented Facts

Negative prompt

A separate instruction naming things to leave out. Only some tools support it, through a field or a parameter like Midjourney's --no. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: How Image Prompts Steer the Picture

Negative space

Calm, empty area in a picture. In design, the place where text or a logo can sit. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: How Image Prompts Steer the Picture

Negotiated rulemaking

The informal first stage in which an agency and interested people try to agree on a rule's content before a formal proposal (Idaho Code 67-5220). How Laws and Rules Get Made: Idaho administrative rules

Neighborhood watch apps

Apps where residents post clips and alerts. Some let police post and request footage. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Private Surveillance: Doorbells, Partnerships and the Workplace

NERC

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the federally certified body that writes and enforces reliability standards for the bulk grid. How the Power Grid Works: Who Regulates the Grid

Net billing

A billing rule that credits exported solar at a separate export rate rather than the retail rate. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Solar PV: Cells, Inverters, Rooftops and Fields

Net generation

Electricity a plant sends to the grid after subtracting what it uses itself. How the Power Grid Works: Capacity vs. Energy and Capacity Factor

Net load

Demand minus variable wind and solar output: what dispatchable plants and storage must supply. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Intermittency and Integration: Duck Curves, Curtailment and Firming

Net metering

A billing rule where a customer's exported solar offsets their purchases at the full retail rate. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Solar PV: Cells, Inverters, Rooftops and Fields

Neural audio codec

A trained network that squeezes audio into a short stream of discrete codes and rebuilds audio from them. Modern speech and music models predict these codes. AI for Voice and Music: How Synthetic Speech Works

Neuron (artificial)

A tiny calculation: multiply each input by a weight, add them up with a bias, then pass the total through a simple squashing function. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Neural Networks and Deep Learning in Plain Words

Neutral description

A sentence that states what a document does in its own terms, so readers on any side would accept it as fair. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Checking the Claims and Tracking What Comes Next

Neutron-activated material

Reactor parts, mostly steel, made radioactive by neutron exposure, which become waste at decommissioning. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Spent fuel, on-site storage and Idaho's limits

New Capital Investments Incentive Act

Idaho Code 63-4502: a qualifying $1 billion investment in one county within 84 months caps the taxpayer's taxable value in that county at $400 million. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Big Projects and Data Centers: Exemptions, Sales Tax Breaks and Who Pays

New construction roll

The assessor's list of value added by new buildings and qualifying improvements, counted at 90 percent, used to grow a district's limit. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Idaho's 3 Percent Cap, New Construction and Forgone Balances

The county assessor's list of newly built taxable value, which lets Idaho taxing districts grow their budgets beyond the yearly cap. Data Center Planning Issues: Tax Incentive Decisions: State Exemptions, County Deals and Clawbacks

The county's list each year of value added by new buildings and certain other changes. Each taxing district's budget can grow by a levy rate times that value, on top of the 3 percent cap. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Who Carries the Cost of the Increment

New state revenue

The added state corporate or pass-through income tax, employee income tax withholding (capped) and sales and use tax a TRI applicant pays because of the new project. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Idaho Commerce Incentives and the Local Match

Next-token prediction

The model's basic job: given the text so far, give odds for every possible next token, pick one, add it, repeat. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: How Large Language Models Work

The core task of a language model: given the text so far, assign a probability to every possible next token. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: How Machines Write, and Why It Leaves Fingerprints

NFPA 855

The National Fire Protection Association standard for installing stationary energy storage systems, referenced by fire codes. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Fire and Battery Storage Safety Standards

The National Fire Protection Association's standard for installing stationary energy storage systems; 2026 edition released September 2025. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Codes, Standards and How Battery Fires Are Fought

Nitrate priority area

An Idaho DEQ designation for an area where groundwater nitrate is a known concern, used to target monitoring and protection. Water, Land and Agriculture: Groundwater, Wells and Water Quality

Nitrate-nitrogen

Nitrate reported by the weight of its nitrogen only. The drinking water standard is written this way. Water, Land and Agriculture: Groundwater, Wells and Water Quality

No-harm analysis

A utility study meant to show that serving a new customer will not raise costs for existing customers. Data Center Planning Issues: Ratepayer Protections at the Utility Commission

Nominal levy rate

The rate printed on a bill or levy table, applied to taxable value. It ignores exemptions, credits and assessment differences. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Comparing Property Tax Burdens Honestly

Non-exempt budget

The part of a district's property tax budget subject to the 63-802 limits. Voter-approved bond, override and similar levies are exempt. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Idaho's 3 Percent Cap, New Construction and Forgone Balances

Nondisclosure agreement (NDA)

A contract promising to keep information confidential. Public officials sometimes sign them during site selection. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Secrecy and Process: Who Is Behind It and How to Find Out

A contract promising to keep certain information confidential; it cannot create a new exemption from public records law. Data Center Planning Issues: Secrecy and Open Government: What Idaho Law Makes Public

Notice and takedown

A system where a rights holder notifies a platform of infringing material and the platform removes it to avoid liability. AI for Voice and Music: Voice Cloning Consent and the Law on Voice and Likeness

Notice-and-comment rulemaking

The APA section 553 process: publish a proposed rule, take public comment, respond, then publish a final rule. How Laws and Rules Get Made: The federal process: Congress, agencies, the Federal Register and executive orders

Noticed location

The physical place named in the meeting notice where the public can attend in person. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Remote and Electronic Meetings

NOx

Nitrogen oxides, formed when air is heated in combustion. They help form ground-level ozone and fine particles. Natural Gas Power: Emissions: CO2, methane leaks, NOx and air permits

NRC

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the independent federal agency that licenses and inspects civilian reactors and nuclear materials. Nuclear Power: Who regulates nuclear power and how

NRIC

The National Reactor Innovation Center, a DOE program led by INL that gives private developers test beds and help moving designs toward demonstration. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: SMR and microreactor work at Idaho National Laboratory

Nucleus sampling (top-p)

Sampling only from the smallest set of top tokens whose probabilities add up to a set share, such as 90 percent, and ignoring the rest. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: How Machines Write, and Why It Leaves Fingerprints

Null and void

Without legal effect, as if the action never happened. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Violations, Cures, Penalties and Key Cases

Nutrient management plan

A plan that matches manure and fertilizer applications to what crops can use, field by field, to keep nitrogen and phosphorus out of water. Water, Land and Agriculture: Groundwater, Wells and Water Quality

O

Off-gas

The mix of gases a cell vents in failure, including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons and fluorine compounds. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Failure Modes and Thermal Runaway: Heat, Gas, Fire and Explosion

Once-through cooling

Pulling water from a river, lake or sea, passing it through the condenser once and returning it warmer. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Cooling options and water use

One-to-many identification

Comparing a probe face against a gallery of many images to find possible matches. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Facial Recognition: Accuracy, Arrests and Rules

One-to-one verification

Comparing a face to a single stored image to confirm identity, as when a phone opens for its owner's face. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Facial Recognition: Accuracy, Arrests and Rules

Open access transmission tariff (OATT)

A utility's FERC-approved terms and rates for others to use its transmission system. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: How a Transmission Line Gets Into Your Bill

Open weights

A model whose trained parameters can be downloaded and run by anyone, under its license terms. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Narrow vs General, Open vs Closed, Local vs Cloud, and Agents

Open-weight model

A model whose trained weights are published for anyone to download and run. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: AI Safety and Risk: Who Argues What

An AI model whose trained parameters are released so anyone can run or modify it. The AI Action Plan encourages them. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: The AI Orders: From Revoking EO 14110 to 'Super Intelligence'

Operating cash flow

Cash a company's normal business brings in during a period, before spending on long-lived assets. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: The AI Slowdown: What the Evidence Shows as of October 2026

Operating property

Property a utility uses to deliver service, assessed for tax by the State Tax Commission instead of the county assessor. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: SWIP-N on the Ground

Operating reserves

Extra generating capacity or flexible demand kept ready to cover sudden losses or forecast errors. How the Power Grid Works: Balancing Supply and Demand Every Second

Operator

In Idaho's act, the person or company that makes a conversational AI service available to the public; app stores and search engines are not operators just for providing access. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Rules That Limit AI: Idaho's Chatbot Law, the States and the Preemption Fight

Opt-in

A setting that stays off until the user turns it on. Opt-out means it is on until the user turns it off. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: AI You Did Not Ask For: Copilot, Recall, Search and Phone Defaults

Oral check

A conversation in which a writer explains, without notes, what a piece argues, why it is organized as it is and where its facts came from. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Detection in Practice: How Institutions Handle Suspected AI Text

Ordinance

A local law adopted by a city council or board of county commissioners, enforceable with penalties. How Laws and Rules Get Made: City and county lawmaking: ordinances and resolutions

OSTP

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, headed by the President's science adviser, who carries the title Assistant to the President for Science and Technology. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Who Is Behind It: Officials, Agencies, Companies and Money

Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement

A flexible federal contract form used by DOE and the military for prototypes, outside standard procurement rules. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Projects planned, deals signed and the cost record

Outpainting

Extending an image past its original edges with new generated content. Adobe calls its version Generative Expand. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Editing, Consistency and Upscaling

Overfitting

When a model memorizes its training examples, noise included, and does worse on new data. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: How Machine Learning Learns

Overhead energy

Energy used for cooling, power conversion losses, lighting and everything else that is not the IT equipment. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Efficiency Metrics: PUE, WUE and CUE

Overlay district

A zone laid over base zones to add rules for a special area, such as an airport, floodplain or historic district. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Zoning Ordinances, Maps and Rezones

A mapped zone laid over the base districts that adds or changes standards for the land inside it. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Zoning Districts, Overlays and Size Tiers

Overnight cost

The cost to build a plant as if it were built instantly, excluding interest during construction. Nuclear Power: Costs and timelines: Vogtle and the SMR bet

Override

Voter approval to raise property tax above the 63-802 limit, either temporarily (majority vote, up to two years) or permanently (two-thirds vote). Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Idaho's 3 Percent Cap, New Construction and Forgone Balances

Overvote

Marking more choices than allowed in a race; the tabulator must reject or flag the race. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Election Security and Audits in Plain Terms

Owner participation agreement

A contract in which an agency agrees to reimburse a developer for public improvements, usually only from increment the developer's project generates. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: What Agencies Must Report, and Where to Find It

P

Paper mill

An operation that produces fake or low-quality scientific papers for sale. Publishers screen for its signs, including machine-generated text. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Detection in Practice: How Institutions Handle Suspected AI Text

Parameter

Any number the model learns: weights plus biases. Model sizes are quoted in parameters, such as 70 billion. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Neural Networks and Deep Learning in Plain Words

Paraphrase attack

Rewording AI-generated text, often with a second model, so a detector or watermark no longer recognizes it while the meaning stays about the same. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Accuracy and False Positives: Who Gets Flagged and Why

Part 107

The FAA rule for flying small drones (under 55 pounds) for work, including the remote pilot certificate. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Drones, Camera Networks and Real-Time Crime Centers

Part 53

The NRC's optional risk-informed, technology-inclusive licensing framework for any reactor type, finalized in 2026. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Safety, emergency planning zones and the new NRC rules

Participating parcel

Land whose owner has signed an agreement with the developer, such as a lease or easement; non-participating parcels have no agreement. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Setbacks, Height, Noise and Glare Standards

Participating transmission owner

A company that places lines under CAISO's operational control and recovers its revenue requirement through CAISO's transmission rates. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: How a Transmission Line Gets Into Your Bill

Particularity

The Fourth Amendment requirement that a warrant describe the place to be searched and things to be seized with enough precision. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: The Fourth Amendment in Eight Cases

Passive safety

Safety functions that work through natural forces such as gravity, natural circulation and conduction, without pumps, operators or outside power. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Safety, emergency planning zones and the new NRC rules

Pathways Initiative

The West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative, a multi-state effort begun in 2023 to put CAISO's Western markets under independent governance; its Step 1 gave CAISO's WEM Governing Body primary authority over WEIM and EDAM rules. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: CAISO, How It Pays for Lines, and the New Board Above Its Markets

Payroll data

Employment records from payroll processors like ADP, used to track hiring and jobs month by month. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Jobs and the Economy: What the Research Shows So Far

Peak day demand

Water use on the highest-use day, which sizes wells, pipes and treatment plants. Water, Land and Agriculture: New Claims on Old Water: Data Centers, Energy and Farmland

Peaker

A plant that runs mainly during the highest-demand hours, usually a simple-cycle turbine or engine. Natural Gas Power: Gas in the grid: share, coal, renewables and data centers

Peaking plant (peaker)

A quick-start plant, often a gas turbine, that runs only during the highest-demand hours. How the Power Grid Works: Balancing Supply and Demand Every Second

Pending rule

A rule the agency has adopted after comment that waits for the legislature's approval by concurrent resolution. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Idaho administrative rules

Per-capita tax

Total tax collected divided by population. It measures the size of the tax relative to residents, not the bill on any one home. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Comparing Property Tax Burdens Honestly

Percentage point

The plain difference between two percentages. 3 percent to 5 percent is a 2-point rise and a 67 percent increase. Using AI for Research and Writing: Analyzing Data with AI, and Checking the Math Yourself

Permanent job

An ongoing position at the operating facility, as opposed to temporary construction work. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Site Selection, Construction and Jobs

An ongoing operating position, such as a technician or security officer, that lasts after construction ends. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Jobs: Construction Crews and Permanent Staff

Permit to construct

A state air permit required before building a new source of air pollution above set thresholds. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Land, Noise, Diesel Generators, Light and Traffic

An air quality permit from Idaho DEQ required before building a source of air pollution, such as a yard of diesel generators. Data Center Planning Issues: The Approval Path: From Land Option to Switch-On

Perplexity

A measure of how surprised a language model is by a text: the exponential of the average negative log probability of its tokens. Lower means more predictable. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: How Machines Write, and Why It Leaves Fingerprints

Personal identification affidavit

A signed form a voter without accepted ID can complete at the polls; false information on it is a felony. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Registering, ID and Absentee Voting in Idaho

Personal property

Movable business property such as machinery, equipment and furniture, as opposed to land and buildings. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Farmland, Timber, Business Equipment and Nonprofits: The Other Big Exemptions

PHMSA serious incident

A pipeline incident involving a fatality or an injury requiring in-patient hospitalization. Natural Gas Power: Safety and local impacts: pipelines, compressors, well sites and land

Photo illustration

An image built or altered to express an idea, labeled so viewers do not take it as a documentary photo. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: AI Images in News and Advocacy: Illustration versus Evidence

Photovoltaic (PV) cell

A semiconductor device, usually silicon, that turns light directly into direct current electricity. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Solar PV: Cells, Inverters, Rooftops and Fields

PILOT

Payment in lieu of taxes: a negotiated payment a property owner makes instead of some or all regular property taxes. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Taxes and Incentives: Who Gives Up What

Payment in lieu of taxes: a negotiated payment that replaces some or all property tax, used widely in some states. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Big Projects and Data Centers: Exemptions, Sales Tax Breaks and Who Pays

Payment in lieu of taxes: a negotiated payment that replaces some or all regular property taxes for a period. Data Center Planning Issues: Tax Incentive Decisions: State Exemptions, County Deals and Clawbacks

PILT

Federal Payments in Lieu of Taxes to counties and other local governments with untaxable federal land. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Big Projects and Data Centers: Exemptions, Sales Tax Breaks and Who Pays

Place of use (POU)

The legal location where the water is used, also described by quarter-quarter sections. Water, Land and Agriculture: Reading Water Right Records and IDWR Maps

Plagiarism checker

Software that compares a text to existing documents and reports copied passages. It cannot see newly generated text that matches nothing. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: What AI Detection Is and Why People Care

Plan amendment

A change to the plan text or map, adopted through the hearing process in 67-6509. Idaho Planning and Zoning: The Comprehensive Plan: Components and Amendments

Plan component

One of the subject areas Idaho Code 67-6508 tells a comprehensive plan to address, such as land use, natural resources, agriculture or public utilities. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Comprehensive Plan Language That Holds Up

Plan modification

Any change to an adopted plan. Most modifications reset the base value under 50-2903A and require an ordinance and hearing. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Plans, Amendments and the 20-Year Clock

Planned unit development

A project under single ownership or control that mixes uses or adjusts standards under a master plan, approved under 67-6515. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Conditional Uses, Variances, PUDs and Development Agreements

Planning and zoning commission

An appointed citizen body, 3 to 12 voting members, that recommends or decides land use matters as the governing board's ordinance allows. Idaho Planning and Zoning: The Planning Act and Who Decides

Plant facilities levy

A voter-approved Idaho levy that saves for or pays toward school buildings, up to 0.4 percent of market value for up to ten years. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Levies and Bonds: Supplementals, Plant Facilities, Overrides and Debt

Plant investment exemption

Idaho Code 63-602NN: a county may exempt all or part of the value a qualifying nonretail commercial or industrial investment adds, for up to five years. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Big Projects and Data Centers: Exemptions, Sales Tax Breaks and Who Pays

Plat

The recorded drawing of a subdivision showing lots, streets, easements and dedications, with the required certifications and approvals. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Subdivisions, Plats and Impact Fees

Point of diversion (POD)

The legal location where water is taken from its source, usually described to a quarter-quarter section. Water, Land and Agriculture: Reading Water Right Records and IDWR Maps

Point sentence

One sentence that says what happened and why it matters. Every paragraph should serve it. Using AI for Research and Writing: What AI Writing Assistants Do to Your Text

Political action committee (PAC)

A committee that raises and spends money to support or oppose candidates or measures; in Idaho, any person designated for that purpose or spending more than $1,000 a year on it. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Campaign Finance Basics: Limits, PACs and Dark Money

Political file

The part of a broadcaster's public inspection file that records requests to buy political ad time; posted online by the FCC. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Following the Money Into Ads, and Describing It Fairly

Political treasurer

The person a candidate or committee appoints to keep the account, keep records and file reports. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Idaho Sunshine Law Reports

Positive predictive value

Of all the texts a detector flags, the share that really are AI-written. Depends on the true positive rate, the false positive rate and the base rate together. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Accuracy and False Positives: Who Gets Flagged and Why

Post-election audit

A hand count of ballots from randomly selected precincts or batches, compared with the machine count, ordered by the Secretary of State after the canvass. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Election Security and Audits in Plain Terms

Post-incident report

A provider's written account of an outage, covering timeline, cause and fixes. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Security, Reliability and Why Outages Happen

Power conversion system (PCS)

The bidirectional inverter that charges the battery from AC and discharges it to AC. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Inside a BESS: Cells to Containers, Inverters to Fire Systems

Power cost adjustment

A mechanism that updates rates each year for changes in fuel and purchased power costs, outside a full rate case. How the Power Grid Works: How Your Power Bill Is Built

Power Cost Adjustment (PCA)

Idaho Power's annual true-up that passes most changes in fuel and purchased power costs, including market results, to customers. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: EDAM, Markets+ and Which Way Idaho Went

Power purchase agreement (PPA)

A long-term contract to buy electricity from a specific project at set terms. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Hydrogen, Emerging Options and How to Judge a New Energy Claim

A long-term contract to buy electricity from a specific plant at agreed terms. Nuclear Power: Small modular and advanced reactors, October 2026

Power rating (MW)

How fast a storage system can charge or discharge. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Batteries and Storage: Power, Energy, Duration and Fire

Powered land

Land that already has, or has a firm commitment for, a large electric service. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Site Selection, Construction and Jobs

Pre-leasing

Signing tenants to a building before it is finished. High pre-leasing means demand is outrunning supply. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Who Builds Data Centers, and Why Now

Predictive AI

AI that estimates a number or picks a label from data: will this loan default, is this email spam, how many riders tomorrow. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: The Kinds of AI and What Each Is For

Preemption

When valid federal law overrides a conflicting state law. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: AI Law and Regulation as of October 2026

When a higher level of government takes over a subject so lower levels cannot regulate it, or can regulate only within set limits. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: The Other Side's Best Arguments, and Getting Code Adopted

Preliminary levy rate

The rate used to convert new construction and annexation value into extra budget authority: the base budget plus the chosen growth, divided by current taxable value. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Idaho's 3 Percent Cap, New Construction and Forgone Balances

The rate most taxing districts compute from their prior budget plus the share of the 3 percent increase they choose, divided by current taxable value, and then multiply by new construction value. Fire and ambulance districts use the previous year's levy rate instead. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Who Carries the Cost of the Increment

Preliminary negotiations

Early-stage talks on trade or commerce where a body competes with governments in other states or nations; read narrowly by the Idaho Supreme Court in 2024. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Executive Sessions, Subsection by Subsection

Preliminary plat

The first, design-level subdivision drawing reviewed at hearing. Its name and process come from local ordinance. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Subdivisions, Plats and Impact Fees

Preservation order

A court order requiring a party to keep data that might be evidence, overriding normal deletion. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Privacy and Security: Your Prompts, Injection and Deepfakes

Preservation request

A formal request to keep specific data past the normal retention period for a case. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Plate Readers: Results, Misuse, Courts and Pushback

Presidential memorandum

A written directive from the President to agencies; it guides executive action but does not change statutes. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: Lava Ridge: What Was Approved and How It Was Stopped

Pressurized water reactor (PWR)

A reactor whose cooling water is kept under high pressure so it does not boil; heat passes to a separate loop that makes steam. Nuclear Power: Reactor types side by side

Presumption of openness

The rule in Idaho Code 74-102 that public records are open unless a statute expressly says otherwise. Data Center Planning Issues: Secrecy and Open Government: What Idaho Law Makes Public

Pretraining

The first, most expensive training stage: next-token prediction over a huge body of text. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: How Large Language Models Work

Primary source

The original record: the budget itself, the audit, the bill text, the recording. Not an article or post about it. Using AI for Research and Writing: How AI Handles Budgets, Audits, Transcripts and Bills

Prime farmland

USDA term for land with the best combination of physical and chemical traits for producing crops, which in dry regions often depends on irrigation. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Protecting Farmland and Capping Cumulative Impact

Prior appropriation

Water law in which the first person to put water to beneficial use gets the senior right. Often summed up as first in time, first in right. Water, Land and Agriculture: First in Time: How Western Water Rights Work

The Western water law rule that the earliest water right on a source is served first in a shortage: first in time, first in right. Data Center Planning Issues: Water Planning: City Contracts, Water Rights and Reclaimed Supply

Priority date

The date a water right was established. It decides who gets water first in a shortage. Water, Land and Agriculture: First in Time: How Western Water Rights Work

Private right of action

A statute's permission for an individual harmed by a violation to sue. Idaho's chatbot act expressly creates none. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Rules That Limit AI: Idaho's Chatbot Law, the States and the Preemption Fight

Probability curvature

The idea behind DetectGPT: machine text tends to sit at a local peak of a model's probability, so small rewrites lower its score more than they lower a human text's score. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: How AI Text Detectors Work

Probe image

The photo being searched, often a still from surveillance video. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Facial Recognition: Accuracy, Arrests and Rules

Process evidence

Drafts, notes, version history and other records that show how a piece of writing was actually made. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: What AI Detection Is and Why People Care

Records of how a piece of writing was made: drafts, notes, outlines, version history, source files and chat logs. It shows the work being done over time, which a single finished text cannot. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Detection in Practice: How Institutions Handle Suspected AI Text

Process heat

Heat used directly in industry (steam for chemical plants, refineries, paper mills) rather than turned into electricity. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: SMR types and what each one is for

Proclamation

A presidential document usually addressed to the public, often ceremonial, sometimes used to announce policy or exercise a specific power Congress granted. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Reading a Presidential Action: Order, Fact Sheet, Plan or Pledge

Production tax (gross earnings tax)

A tax on a generator's earnings from selling power, paid in place of property tax on its equipment. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: The Big Solar Question

Production tax (Idaho)

The tax on gross earnings that Idaho wind, solar and geothermal producers pay in place of property tax on exempt property. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: The Other Side's Best Arguments, and Getting Code Adopted

Project code name

A placeholder name, such as 'Project Snow,' used while a company's identity is kept confidential during recruitment. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Idaho Commerce Incentives and the Local Match

Project log

A running record of every tool, prompt, take, source and decision in a production. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Worked Case: Anatomy of a 30-Second AI-Assisted Explainer

Prompt

The instructions and material you give an AI tool in one message. Using AI for Research and Writing: How Prompts Shape AI Answers: Role, Task, Context, Constraints, Format, Examples

The text instruction given to an image model describing what to make. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: How Image Prompts Steer the Picture

Prompt adherence

How closely the output follows what the prompt asked for, including counts, positions, colors and text. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: How Image Generators Work in Practice

Prompt critical

A state where the chain reaction grows on prompt neutrons alone, so power rises in milliseconds, too fast for control systems. Nuclear Power: Idaho's nuclear history

Prompt influence

In SoundEffects, how strictly the generator follows your description. Higher sticks closer; lower gives more variation. AI for Voice and Music: Voice Studio in Depth

Prompt injection

Hiding instructions in text, web pages or files that an AI reads, to hijack what it does. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Narrow vs General, Open vs Closed, Local vs Cloud, and Agents

Input that makes an AI system ignore its instructions or do something unintended, either typed directly or hidden in content it reads. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Privacy and Security: Your Prompts, Injection and Deepfakes

Proof of residence

A document with the voter's name and current Idaho physical address, such as a utility bill or lease, required to register in person. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Registering, ID and Absentee Voting in Idaho

Propagation

Thermal runaway spreading from one cell to its neighbors, then module to module and unit to unit. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Failure Modes and Thermal Runaway: Heat, Gas, Fire and Explosion

Property tax abatement

A reduction or exemption of property tax for a set period, usually granted to attract investment. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Taxes and Incentives: Who Gives Up What

Property tax deferral

A program that lets qualifying owners postpone property tax on their home, with deferred taxes and interest repaid to the state when the property changes hands or stops qualifying. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Homeowner Relief: The Exemption, the State Credit, the Circuit Breaker and Veterans

Proportionality

Matching the weight of evidence you require to the stakes: a classroom conversation needs less than a failing grade, and a failing grade less than expulsion or a firing. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Judging a Claim That Something Was Written by AI

Prosody

The rhythm, stress, pitch movement and pausing of speech. AI for Voice and Music: How Synthetic Speech Works

Provenance

Where a piece of media came from and what has been done to it since. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: AI Images in News and Advocacy: Illustration versus Evidence

The documented history of how a piece of media was made and changed. AI for Voice and Music: Copyright, Platform Rules and Disclosure for AI Audio

The documented history of a piece of content: who or what made it, with which tools, and what was changed afterward. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Watermarks and Provenance: Marking Machine Text at the Source

Provider (EU AI Act)

A person, company or public body that develops an AI system or general-purpose model, or has one developed, and puts it on the market or into service under its own name or trademark. Article 50(2) puts the machine-readable marking duty on providers. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Law and Policy: Rules on AI-Generated Text and Its Labels

Provisional exemption

An exemption granted while a company works toward required investment and job targets, which must be repaid if it misses them. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Big Projects and Data Centers: Exemptions, Sales Tax Breaks and Who Pays

A tax break granted while a company works toward its investment and job targets, recaptured if it misses them. Data Center Planning Issues: Tax Incentive Decisions: State Exemptions, County Deals and Clawbacks

Proxy variable

A measurable stand-in for the thing you really want to predict, such as spending standing in for illness. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Bias and Errors: How AI Gets Things Wrong

Prudence review

A utility commission's later check on whether costs were reasonably incurred, which decides whether customers pay them. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: SWIP-N on the Ground

PSD and BACT

Prevention of Significant Deterioration, the Clean Air Act permit for big new sources in clean-air areas, which requires Best Available Control Technology. Natural Gas Power: Emissions: CO2, methane leaks, NOx and air permits

PTC and ITC

Production tax credit (per MWh generated) and investment tax credit (a share of project cost). Now sections 45Y and 48E. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: What Energy Costs: LCOE, System Costs and Tax Credits

Public agency

Under 74-202(4), a state or regional body created by or pursuant to statute, any county, city, school district, special district or other political subdivision, or a subagency created by statute, ordinance or other legislative act. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Who the Law Covers

Public agency (open meeting law)

Under Idaho Code 74-202(4), state bodies created by statute, regional bodies created by statute, counties, cities, districts and other political subdivisions, and their subagencies created by statute, ordinance or other legislative act. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Open Meetings, Public Records and Following the Money

Public comment

Written or oral input submitted during an agency's comment period or a local government's public comment time. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Giving testimony and comments that count

Public comment docket

The record of comments the public files on a proposed rule or waiver, which an agency must review before acting. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: What AI Detection Is and Why People Care

Public comment period

A slot on an agenda where any member of the public may speak, usually under time limits set by the board. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Public Comment Versus Public Hearings

Public hearing

A noticed proceeding, required by a specific statute, where interested persons have a right to be heard before a decision. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Public Comment Versus Public Hearings

Public Land Survey System

The grid of townships, ranges and sections used to describe rural land. A township is 6 miles square with 36 sections of 640 acres. Water, Land and Agriculture: Reading Water Right Records and IDWR Maps

Public record

Under 74-101(13), any writing about the public's business prepared, owned, used or retained by a state or local agency, whatever its form. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Open Meetings, Public Records and Following the Money

Public utility commission (PUC)

The state agency that sets retail rates and service rules for investor-owned utilities. How the Power Grid Works: Who Regulates the Grid

PUE

Power usage effectiveness. Total facility power divided by power used by the computers. 1.0 would be perfect; Google reports 1.09 fleetwide. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Energy and Water: What Is Measured and What Is Guessed

Power usage effectiveness: total facility energy divided by IT equipment energy. 1.0 is the theoretical floor. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Efficiency Metrics: PUE, WUE and CUE

Pumped storage

Two reservoirs at different heights. The plant pumps water uphill when power is cheap and lets it fall through turbines when power is valuable. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Hydropower: Dams, Rivers and Water Years

Storing energy by pumping water uphill to a reservoir and releasing it through turbines when power is needed. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: Elmore County and the Rest of the Magic Valley

Purpose limitation

A rule restricting what data may be used for, such as only criminal investigations. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Plate Readers: Results, Misuse, Courts and Pushback

Q

Qualified elector

A person eligible and registered to vote. The 6 percent rule is based on the count at the last general election. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Ballot initiatives and referendums in Idaho

Qualifying Project

EO 14318's term for data center or component projects eligible for its permitting help: $500 million capex, over 100 MW of added load, national security value, or a secretary's designation. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Data Centers on Federal Land: EO 14318, DOE Sites, Army Bases and the Ratepayer Pledge

Quantization

Storing a model's numbers with fewer bits, so it takes less memory and runs on smaller machines, at a small cost in quality. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Narrow vs General, Open vs Closed, Local vs Cloud, and Agents

Quasi-judicial

A board acting like a judge on one party's application, such as a variance or permit, which limits private contacts. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: What Counts as a Meeting

Quasi-judicial decision

A decision that applies existing rules to a specific person or parcel, such as a permit or site-specific rezone. Due process rules apply. Idaho Planning and Zoning: The Planning Act and Who Decides

Quid pro quo

An exchange of something of value for an official act; a contribution alone is not evidence of one. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Following the Money Into Ads, and Describing It Fairly

Quorum

The number of members who must be present for a board to do business, usually a majority of the full membership. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: What Counts as a Meeting

R

Rack

A standard metal frame, usually 42 to 48 units tall, that holds servers and other gear. One rack unit (1U) is 1.75 inches. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Inside the Building: White Space, Racks, Servers and GPUs

Rack density

How much electric power one rack draws, measured in kilowatts. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Inside the Building: White Space, Racks, Servers and GPUs

Rack or string

Modules wired in series to reach a working voltage, usually with fuses, contactors and a string-level BMS. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Inside a BESS: Cells to Containers, Inverters to Fire Systems

Radiotoxicity

A measure of how harmful a quantity of radioactive material would be if taken into the body. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Spent fuel, on-site storage and Idaho's limits

RAG

Retrieval-augmented generation: search first, paste the relevant passages into the prompt, then generate the answer from them. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Why Chatbots Make Things Up, and What Fixes Help

Randomized controlled trial

A study that randomly assigns who gets a treatment, such as AI tools, so differences can be credited to it. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Jobs and the Economy: What the Research Shows So Far

A study that randomly assigns places or people to get a treatment or not, so differences can be credited to the treatment. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Plate Readers: Results, Misuse, Courts and Pushback

Rate case

A formal proceeding in which a utility asks regulators to change its rates and must justify the costs. How the Power Grid Works: Who Regulates the Grid

Rate class

A group of customers with similar usage that share the same tariff, such as residential or large industrial. How the Power Grid Works: How Your Power Bill Is Built

Rate effect

The part of a tax change caused by levy rates changing, measured at this year's value. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Reading a Tax Bill and Comparing Years

Rate study

A consultant's or staff analysis of what a utility costs to run and how rates should be set to pay for it. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Fees, Impact Fees and Enterprise Funds: Water, Sewer and Growth

Ratepayer Protection Pledge

A voluntary March 2026 commitment by seven tech companies to supply or pay for the power and grid upgrades their data centers need. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Data Centers on Federal Land: EO 14318, DOE Sites, Army Bases and the Ratepayer Pledge

Reactor Pilot Program

A DOE program created under Executive Order 14301 (May 2025) to authorize privately funded test reactors under DOE authority, with a goal of three reaching criticality by July 4, 2026. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: SMR and microreactor work at Idaho National Laboratory

Read

One record of one vehicle passing one camera: plate text, photo, time, place and often vehicle details. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: How License Plate Readers Work

Real-time crime center (RTCC)

A police operations room or software platform that combines live camera feeds, sensor alerts and records to support officers in the field. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Drones, Camera Networks and Real-Time Crime Centers

Reasonable expectation of privacy

The Katz test: a person showed an actual expectation of privacy, and society is prepared to recognize it as reasonable. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: The Fourth Amendment in Eight Cases

Reasoning model

A model trained to work through a problem step by step internally before giving its final answer, trading time for accuracy. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: Why Chatbots Make Things Up, and What Fixes Help

Recall

A Windows feature on Copilot+ PCs that saves snapshots of the screen and lets the user search them in plain language, stored and analyzed on the device. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: AI You Did Not Ask For: Copilot, Recall, Search and Phone Defaults

Recapture

Collecting taxes that were waived when a company fails to meet the conditions of an incentive. Data Center Planning Issues: Tax Incentive Decisions: State Exemptions, County Deals and Clawbacks

Recapture (clawback)

A provision requiring a company to repay an incentive if it misses promised investment or jobs. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Taxes and Incentives: Who Gives Up What

Reciprocating engine

A large piston engine, similar in principle to a car engine, burning gas to drive a generator. Natural Gas Power: Turning gas into power: turbines, combined cycle and engines

Recirculating (wet) cooling tower

A tower that cools condenser water by evaporating part of it, then reuses the rest. Low withdrawal, high consumption. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Cooling options and water use

Reclaimed water

Treated municipal wastewater reused for non-drinking purposes such as cooling or irrigation. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Water: Cooling, Aquifers and Reclaimed Supply

Recommender system

A model that ranks items for you (songs, videos, products, posts) based on what you and people like you did before. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: The Kinds of AI and What Each Is For

Reconciliation

Checking that beginning cash plus cash received minus cash spent equals the reported ending cash. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Reading a Report Step by Step

Reconsideration

A written request, filed within 14 days of a final decision, asking the decision maker to fix specific deficiencies. Required before judicial review under 67-6535. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Reconsideration, Judicial Review and Takings

Record

Everything the decision makers had before them: application, staff report, letters, exhibits, testimony and minutes. Courts review the record. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Hearings, Due Process and Being Heard

Everything submitted and considered in a land use decision, which is what a court reviews. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: The Other Side's Best Arguments, and Getting Code Adopted

Record of Decision (ROD)

The signed federal decision that follows an environmental impact statement and says what is approved; for SWIP, the BLM's November 1994 right-of-way decision. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: SWIP-N: Who Owns It, Who Runs It, Who Pays

The signed federal document that picks an alternative after an environmental impact statement and states what is approved. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: Lava Ridge: What Was Approved and How It Was Stopped

Records log

A running list of each record requested, the agency, the date sent, the legal deadline and the status. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Case Study: Following Project Falcon from Rumor to Hearing

Records response

What an agency sends back after a public records request: documents, a denial, a partial release or a notice of delay. Using AI for Research and Writing: Worked Case: From Records Request to Verified Findings

Recount

A new count of ballots in a race, requested by a candidate or measure supporter or opponent within a set deadline. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: From Election Night to Certified: Canvass and Recounts

Redaction

Blacking out exempt portions of a record so the rest can be released. Data Center Planning Issues: Secrecy and Open Government: What Idaho Law Makes Public

Reference image

An image handed to the model as a visual target for a character, product or style, in addition to the text prompt. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Editing, Consistency and Upscaling

Referendum

A petition-triggered vote on whether to approve or reject an act the legislature passed. How Laws and Rules Get Made: Ballot initiatives and referendums in Idaho

Refining concentration

How much of a mineral's processing happens in a few countries or companies. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Lifecycle Impacts: Mining, Manufacturing, Recycling and Emissions per kWh

Refundable credit

A tax credit paid out in cash when it exceeds the taxpayer's liability. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Idaho Commerce Incentives and the Local Match

Region edit

Regenerating one time range of a finished song, often with new lyrics, while keeping the rest. AI for Voice and Music: Prompting Songs in MusicStudio and Cleaning Them in SoundStudio

Registered agent

The person or firm a business names to receive legal papers. Often a law firm or service company that handles many related LLCs. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Secrecy and Process: Who Is Behind It and How to Find Out

Regulatory taking

Under 67-8002, a regulatory or administrative action that deprives an owner of property in violation of the state or federal constitution, whether total or partial, permanent or temporary. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Reconsideration, Judicial Review and Takings

A regulation that goes so far in restricting property that the Constitution requires compensation. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: The Other Side's Best Arguments, and Getting Code Adopted

Regulatory taking analysis

A review, available on request under Idaho Code 67-8003, of whether a land use action takes private property without compensation. Water, Land and Agriculture: Land Use: Plans, Zoning, Permits and Farmland

Reignition

A fire restarting in damaged cells after it appeared to be out. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: The Fire Record: Notable BESS Fires and Where the List Lives

Reinforcement learning

Training by trial and error, where a system gets a reward signal for good outcomes and learns which actions earn it. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: The Kinds of AI and What Each Is For

REIT

Real estate investment trust: a company that owns income-producing property and must pay out most of its taxable income as dividends. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Who Builds Data Centers, and Why Now

Relicensing

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission process that renews a non-federal dam's operating license, typically for 30 to 50 years. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Hydropower: Dams, Rivers and Water Years

Remand

Sending a decision back to the body that made it, with instructions on what to redo. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: SWIP-N in Jerome County: A Permit Fight, Step by Step

Reprocessing

Chemically separating usable uranium and plutonium from spent fuel so they can be made into new fuel. Nuclear Power: Spent fuel and nuclear waste

Reserve margin

How much generating capacity a region has above its expected peak demand, as a percentage of that peak. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: The Energy Orders: Emergency, Dominance, Coal, Nuclear and the Grid

Resolution

A formal statement of a governing body's decision or policy, such as adopting a fee schedule or approving a contract, usually without the formalities of an ordinance. How Laws and Rules Get Made: City and county lawmaking: ordinances and resolutions

Resolution of intent to dissolve

The first step, added in 2025, toward ending an urban renewal agency. It stops new projects and new obligations while the agency winds down. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Who Runs Urban Renewal: Agencies and Their Boards

Resource adequacy

Having enough supply, including reserves, to meet demand across all hours and conditions the planners expect. How the Power Grid Works: Reliability and the Grid's Future

Resource adequacy (capacity)

Having enough resources available to meet the highest expected demand; batteries are paid or counted for being available at peak. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: What Grid Batteries Do and Who Pays Them

Resource sufficiency test

A market check that each participant brings enough supply for its own load before trading, so one member cannot lean on others. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: EDAM, Markets+ and Which Way Idaho Went

Respelling

Writing a word the way it sounds, with the stressed syllable in capitals, so any voice says it correctly. AI for Voice and Music: How Synthetic Voices Read a Script

Retention period

How long a company keeps your data before deleting it. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Privacy and Security: Your Prompts, Injection and Deepfakes

How long stored reads are kept before automatic deletion. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: How License Plate Readers Work

Retention schedule

An official list setting how long each type of record must be kept before it can be destroyed. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Records to Request and How to Judge a Surveillance Program Fairly

A government's adopted list of how long each type of record must be kept before it can be destroyed. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Minutes, Votes and the Right to Record

Retrieval defense

A detection approach in which the model provider stores what its model generated and searches that store for close matches to a suspect text. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Accuracy and False Positives: Who Gets Flagged and Why

Retrieval detection

Checking a text against a stored record of what an AI system generated to see whether it matches. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: How AI Text Detectors Work

Return flow

Irrigation water that runs off or seeps back to a stream or aquifer and can be used again downstream. Water, Land and Agriculture: How Irrigation Works: Canals, Acre-Feet and Efficiency

Revenue allocation area (RAA)

The part of an urban renewal area where property tax on value growth above a base is allocated to the agency. Idaho's name for a TIF district. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Urban Renewal and Tax Increment Financing in Idaho

Idaho's name for a tax increment district inside an urban renewal area. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Urban Renewal in the Magic Valley

Revenue bond

Debt repaid only from a specific revenue stream, usually water or sewer rates, with no claim on property tax. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Levies and Bonds: Supplementals, Plant Facilities, Overrides and Debt

Revenue requirement

The total money a utility is allowed to collect in a year: operating costs plus depreciation, taxes and a return on rate base. How the Power Grid Works: Who Regulates the Grid

Revenue stacking

Earning money from several services with one battery, such as arbitrage, capacity and regulation. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: What Grid Batteries Do and Who Pays Them

Revolving loan fund

A pool of public or grant money lent to businesses, with repayments relent to new borrowers. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Regional Development Groups: SIEDO, Frontier and the Chambers

Rezone

A change to the zoning map for specific land, also called a zoning district boundary change or zoning map amendment. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Zoning Ordinances, Maps and Rezones

Right of publicity

A state-law right to control commercial use of your name, image, likeness and, in some states, voice. AI for Voice and Music: Voice Cloning Consent and the Law on Voice and Likeness

Right of reply

Giving a person or agency named in a report a real chance to respond before it goes public. Using AI for Research and Writing: Worked Case: From Records Request to Verified Findings

Giving an agency or official a fair chance to respond before you raise an allegation publicly. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Documenting and Reporting a Suspected Violation

Right-of-way

The strip of land a pipeline company holds an easement on to build, operate and maintain its line. Natural Gas Power: Safety and local impacts: pipelines, compressors, well sites and land

Right-of-way grant

BLM permission to use federal land for a road, line, pipeline or energy facility. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Moratoriums, and the Limits on Public Land

BLM permission to use federal land for a road, line, pipeline or energy facility, issued under 43 U.S.C. 1761. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: The Southern Idaho Build-Out at a Glance

Riparian rights

Water rights that come with owning land beside a stream or lake. Holders share the water, usually cutting back together in a shortage. Water, Land and Agriculture: First in Time: How Western Water Rights Work

RLHF

Reinforcement learning from human feedback: tuning a model toward answers human raters prefer. How AI Works: The Kinds of AI and What They Are For: How Large Language Models Work

Road use agreement

A contract between a developer and a road agency covering haul routes, road condition surveys, repair duties and security during construction. Data Center Planning Issues: Conditions That Hold Up: Noise, Generators, Water, Light and Bonds

Roll call vote

A vote where each member's name is called and their vote recorded individually. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Executive Sessions, Subsection by Subsection

Round-trip efficiency

Energy you get back out divided by energy you put in. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Batteries and Storage: Power, Energy, Duration and Fire

The share of energy you get back after converting and storing it, then converting it back. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Hydrogen, Emerging Options and How to Judge a New Energy Claim

ROWE

Regional Organization for Western Energy, the nonprofit created to govern Western markets that CAISO would continue to operate. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: CAISO, How It Pays for Lines, and the New Board Above Its Markets

RS number

The number given to a draft bill before introduction. The statement of purpose keeps both numbers, such as RS32977 / H0500. How Laws and Rules Get Made: From RS number to session law

RTO / ISO

Regional transmission organization or independent system operator: an independent nonprofit that runs the grid and wholesale markets over a multi-utility region. How the Power Grid Works: Who Runs the Grid

Regional transmission organization or independent system operator: a nonprofit that runs the high-voltage grid and a wholesale market across many utilities. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: Three Grids, Seven Market Operators, and a West That Never Joined

Rule of thirds

A framing guide that splits the frame into a 3 by 3 grid and places the subject on a line or crossing instead of dead center. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: How Image Prompts Steer the Picture

Rule of three

Listing things in threes by habit. Natural sometimes; a tell when every list has exactly three. Using AI for Research and Writing: Recognizing AI Tells in Writing

Run-of-river

A hydro plant that stores little or no water and generates from whatever the river is carrying that day. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Hydropower: Dams, Rivers and Water Years

S

Safety framework

A company's published policy for testing models for dangerous capabilities and what it will do if they appear. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: AI Safety and Risk: Who Argues What

Sales and use tax exemption

A rule that lets a buyer skip sales tax on qualifying purchases, such as servers, cooling gear and construction materials. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Taxes and Incentives: Who Gives Up What

Sales ratio study

A statistical check of assessment accuracy that compares assessed values with recent arm's-length sale prices. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: How Idaho Assesses Property: Market Value, Mass Appraisal and Ratio Studies

Salvage value

What removed equipment and materials can be sold for, which some estimates subtract from removal cost. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Decommissioning Plans and Bonds

Sampling

Choosing the next token at random according to the model's probabilities, instead of always taking the top choice. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: How Machines Write, and Why It Leaves Fingerprints

Sanitary restriction

A note on every plat barring buildings that need water or sewer until DEQ approves the facilities. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Subdivisions, Plats and Impact Fees

Sanity check

A quick test of whether a result is even plausible, such as comparing it with a known total or last year's figure. Using AI for Research and Writing: Analyzing Data with AI, and Checking the Math Yourself

Scaled content abuse

Google's name, since March 2024, for generating many pages mainly to manipulate search rankings with little value to users, whether by AI, by people or by both. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Detection in Practice: How Institutions Handle Suspected AI Text

Scaling

Improving AI models by training them with more data, more computing power and larger model sizes. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: The AI Slowdown: What the Evidence Shows as of October 2026

Schedule A

The part of an FEC report that itemizes receipts, such as individual contributions over $200 for the cycle. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Federal Reports: FEC Filings, Schedules and Super PACs

Schedule B

The part of an FEC report that itemizes disbursements: who was paid, how much, when and for what. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Federal Reports: FEC Filings, Schedules and Super PACs

Schedule E

The part of Form 3X that itemizes independent expenditures, including which candidate each one supported or opposed. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Federal Reports: FEC Filings, Schedules and Super PACs

School District Facilities Fund

State money created by HB 292 in 2023 that reduces what Idaho school districts levy for bonds and facility costs. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Levies and Bonds: Supplementals, Plant Facilities, Overrides and Debt

School District Facilities Fund (SDFF)

State money created by HB 292 in 2023 and distributed per pupil, which districts must use to pay down bond and levy obligations before property tax. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Where the Money Goes: Taxing Districts, School Funding and State Relief

School Modernization Facilities Fund

A fund created by HB 521 in 2024 that receives $125 million of sales tax a year for school facility distributions and state building authority bonds. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Where the Money Goes: Taxing Districts, School Funding and State Relief

SCR

Selective catalytic reduction: a catalyst system that uses ammonia to convert NOx in exhaust to nitrogen and water. Natural Gas Power: Emissions: CO2, methane leaks, NOx and air permits

Scrubbing

Removing or weakening a watermark by editing, paraphrasing or translating the text until the detector no longer finds the pattern. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Watermarks and Provenance: Marking Machine Text at the Source

SDK (software development kit)

Code an app developer adds to an app. Some SDKs collect location data and send it to brokers. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Data Brokers and Police Purchases

Seam

The boundary between two markets, where trades need extra scheduling and pricing steps and value can be lost. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: EDAM, Markets+ and Which Way Idaho Went

Search (Fourth Amendment)

Government action that intrudes on a reasonable expectation of privacy or physically intrudes on a protected area to get information. A search generally needs a warrant or an exception. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: The Fourth Amendment in Eight Cases

Secret ballot

A vote where members' individual choices can't be identified. Banned for decisions by 74-203(1). Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Minutes, Votes and the Right to Record

Section 202(c) order

An emergency order the Energy Secretary may issue under the Federal Power Act to require generation or transmission during an emergency. Orders that may conflict with environmental law are limited to 90-day periods, which can be renewed. In September 2026 the D.C. Circuit called it a narrow, last-resort backstop. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: The Energy Orders: Emergency, Dominance, Coal, Nuclear and the Grid

Section 702

The part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that authorizes collection on foreigners abroad. Its renewal debates have carried data broker amendments. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Data Brokers and Police Purchases

Section tag

A bracketed label such as [Verse] or [Chorus] in lyrics that tells the model where a part of the song begins. AI for Voice and Music: Prompting Songs in MusicStudio and Cleaning Them in SoundStudio

Seed

The number that sets the starting noise. Same seed, same prompt and same settings usually give a very similar image. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: How Image Generators Work in Practice

A number that fixes the random starting point of a generation so the same input gives the same output. AI for Voice and Music: Multi-Voice Scripts in Dialogue Editor

Selection and arrangement

The creative choice and ordering of material, which can be protected even when the individual pieces are not. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Copyright of AI Output and Tool Licensing

Senior and junior rights

Senior rights have older priority dates. Junior rights are newer and get cut first. Water, Land and Agriculture: First in Time: How Western Water Rights Work

Serial meeting

A string of smaller conversations, calls or messages that together let a quorum deliberate outside a public meeting. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: What Counts as a Meeting

Series compensation

Equipment that lets a long line carry more power by offsetting part of its natural impedance. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: Hemingway: Boardman to Hemingway and Gateway West

Server

A computer that answers requests from other computers, such as sending a web page or running an AI model. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: What a Data Center Is and What It Does

Service charge (customer charge)

A fixed monthly amount that covers costs like the meter, billing and service line, charged no matter how much you use. How the Power Grid Works: How Your Power Bill Is Built

Session law

An act as passed, published by chapter number in the Session Laws of Idaho before it is folded into the Idaho Code. How Laws and Rules Get Made: From RS number to session law

Setback

The minimum distance a building or piece of equipment must keep from a property line, road or neighboring zone. Data Center Planning Issues: Zoning Questions: Is a Data Center Even an Allowed Use?

The minimum distance between a facility component and a protected feature such as a home, property line, road, well or canal. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Setbacks, Height, Noise and Glare Standards

Settlement agreement

Idaho's 1995 court-enforced agreement with DOE and the Navy that caps incoming spent fuel and requires its removal by 2035. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Spent fuel, on-site storage and Idaho's limits

Shadow flicker

Moving shadows cast when turbine blades pass between the sun and a viewer, measured in hours per year and minutes per day. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Setbacks, Height, Noise and Glare Standards

Shadow library

An unauthorized online collection of pirated books or papers, such as Library Genesis. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Training Data and Copyright: The Cases So Far

Shale gas

Natural gas held in tiny pores of fine-grained shale rock. It will not flow in useful amounts without hydraulic fracturing. Natural Gas Power: What natural gas is and where it comes from

Sharing network

An arrangement that lets agencies search each other's ALPR data, often through the vendor's platform. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: How License Plate Readers Work

Shell

The building structure and envelope, before power and cooling equipment and IT fit-out are installed. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Site Selection, Construction and Jobs

Shelter in place

An order to stay indoors with windows and doors shut and ventilation off until the hazard passes. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: The Fire Record: Notable BESS Fires and Where the List Lives

Shot list

A numbered plan of every shot: length, framing, action and source, written before generating. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: AI Video Generation: Tools, Costs and Limits

Signpost

A phrase announcing what's coming instead of saying it, such as 'Let's take a closer look.' Using AI for Research and Writing: Recognizing AI Tells in Writing

Similar use determination

A staff ruling that an unlisted use should be treated like a listed one; usually appealable. Data Center Planning Issues: Zoning Questions: Is a Data Center Even an Allowed Use?

Similarity

How closely the output is pushed toward the original voice the model is imitating. AI for Voice and Music: Voice Studio in Depth

Simple-cycle combustion turbine

A jet-engine-like gas turbine that spins a generator and sends its hot exhaust up the stack. Fast but less efficient. Natural Gas Power: Turning gas into power: turbines, combined cycle and engines

Sine die

Latin for 'without a day.' Adjourning sine die ends the session with no date set to return. How Laws and Rules Get Made: The Idaho Legislature: who, when and where

Single audit

The federal audit required of nonprofits and governments that spend at least a set amount of federal awards in a year, filed with the Federal Audit Clearinghouse. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Open Meetings, Public Records and Following the Money

Single-axis tracker

A rack that rotates rows of panels east to west during the day to follow the sun. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Solar PV: Cells, Inverters, Rooftops and Fields

Single-user area

A revenue allocation area built around one large employer's site, such as the Chobani and Clif Bar areas in Twin Falls. Urban Renewal and Economic Development Groups: Urban Renewal in the Magic Valley

Siting authority

The legal power to decide where a facility may go and on what conditions. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: The Case for Limits, and Who Controls What

Siting priority

Plan language ranking where a use should go first, second and never, which zoning then turns into districts and standards. Limiting Industrial Energy Projects Through Local Code: Comprehensive Plan Language That Holds Up

Small modular reactor (SMR)

A reactor of roughly 300 MWe or less designed to be built largely in factories and shipped in modules. Nuclear Power: Small modular and advanced reactors, October 2026

A reactor of roughly 300 MWe or less per unit, designed for factory fabrication of major parts. The line is a convention, not a legal limit. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: What makes a reactor small or modular

Smooth Cut

A SoundStudio edit that shortens a held note by a chosen amount without an audible jump. AI for Voice and Music: Prompting Songs in MusicStudio and Cleaning Them in SoundStudio

Sodium-bonded fuel

Metallic fuel with liquid sodium inside each pin to carry heat from fuel to cladding, which complicates disposal. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Spent fuel, on-site storage and Idaho's limits

Sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR)

A reactor cooled by liquid sodium metal, with no moderator, so neutrons stay fast. Runs near atmospheric pressure. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: SMR types and what each one is for

Sodium-ion

A battery that shuttles sodium ions instead of lithium ions, using more abundant materials, with lower energy density so far. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: Battery Chemistries: LFP, NMC, Sodium-Ion, Flow and the Rest

Soft binding

A watermark or fingerprint used to find a file's content credential again after the metadata has been stripped. C2PA calls the combination durable content credentials. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Watermarks and Provenance: Marking Machine Text at the Source

Soft cap

A limit on recoverable cost that the utility can exceed only by proving the extra spending was justified. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: How a Transmission Line Gets Into Your Bill

Soft sign

A pattern that is more common in AI text but also common in human writing, such as certain words, tidy structure or even sentence length. Weak evidence alone. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Judging a Claim That Something Was Written by AI

Source-grounded notebook

A tool that answers questions only from documents you load into it, with citations pointing back to passages in those documents. Using AI for Research and Writing: Choosing the Right AI Tool for the Job

Spark spread

The power price minus the fuel cost of making that power at a given heat rate. A rough measure of a gas plant's margin. Natural Gas Power: Prices and volatility: Henry Hub, basis and your power bill

Special contract

A customer-specific agreement between a utility and one large customer, approved by the state commission. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: The Grid Side: Queues, Tariffs and Who Pays

A customer-specific electric service agreement a regulated utility files with the state utility commission for approval. Data Center Planning Issues: The Approval Path: From Land Option to Switch-On

A PUC-approved agreement setting rates and terms for one large customer outside the standard tariffs. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: Data Centers in Idaho: Built, Proposed and Stalled

Special district

A single-purpose local government, such as a fire, cemetery, library, ambulance or mosquito abatement district, with its own board and often its own levy. Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Who Governs What: Counties, Cities, Schools and Special Districts

A local government formed for one job, such as water, fire, highways, cemeteries or libraries, with its own elected or appointed board. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Who the Law Covers

Special meeting

A meeting called for specific business stated in the call, outside the regular schedule; needs 24 hours' notice. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Notice, Agendas and Action Items

Special prosecutor

An outside prosecutor appointed under 31-2603 when the county prosecutor is disqualified, such as when county commissioners are accused. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Violations, Cures, Penalties and Key Cases

Special purpose entity

A company formed for one project, often an LLC, used to hold land, financing and contracts. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Who Builds Data Centers, and Why Now

Special purpose LLC

A company created to hold one property or project, often with a generic name that hides the parent. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: Secrecy and Process: Who Is Behind It and How to Find Out

Special session

A session outside the regular one, limited to the subjects named in the governor's proclamation or the legislators' petition. How Laws and Rules Get Made: The Idaho Legislature: who, when and where

Special use permit

The statute's name for permission to put a conditionally allowed use on a parcel after a hearing, usually with conditions. Local codes often call it a conditional use permit or CUP. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Conditional Uses, Variances, PUDs and Development Agreements

County permission for a use allowed in a zone only after review against listed standards and conditions. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: SWIP-N in Jerome County: A Permit Fight, Step by Step

Speech to speech

Converting a recorded performance into a different voice while keeping its timing and delivery. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: AI Voice and Music

Spent fuel

Fuel removed from a reactor after it can no longer efficiently sustain the chain reaction; it is highly radioactive and hot. Nuclear Power: Spent fuel and nuclear waste

Spinning reserve

Capacity standing ready to deliver power within minutes if a power plant or line trips offline. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: What Grid Batteries Do and Who Pays Them

Spoofing

Making human-written or unrelated text appear to carry a company's watermark, usually after studying many watermarked outputs. Researchers have shown it is practical against several schemes. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Watermarks and Provenance: Marking Machine Text at the Source

Spot zoning

A rezone challenged as out of step with the plan. Idaho courts describe two types; the type that singles out one parcel for one owner's benefit is invalid. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Zoning Ordinances, Maps and Rezones

Stability

A setting that controls how much a synthetic voice varies in pitch and timing. Low is expressive and less predictable; high is steady and can turn flat. AI for Voice and Music: Voice Studio in Depth

Staff report

The planning staff's written analysis of an application against each standard, usually posted with the agenda. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Hearings, Due Process and Being Heard

The planning staff's written analysis of an application, usually with recommended findings and conditions, posted before a hearing. Data Center Planning Issues: The Checklist, and the Case For and Against Hosting

Standard design approval

An NRC finding that a reactor design is acceptable, without approving construction at any site. Nuclear Power: Small modular and advanced reactors, October 2026

Standard design approval (SDA)

An NRC finding that a reactor design is acceptable. It approves no site and allows no construction. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Manufacturers and where each stands with regulators

Standing

A person's legal right to bring a lawsuit, usually requiring a real injury to that person. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Violations, Cures, Penalties and Key Cases

Standing committee

A permanent committee of one chamber, such as House Transportation and Defense, that hears bills in its subject area. How Laws and Rules Get Made: The Idaho Legislature: who, when and where

Stare decisis

The practice of following earlier decisions on the same question, for stability. How Laws and Rules Get Made: How courts interpret laws and rules

State action

Conduct by the government or someone acting for it. The Fourth Amendment applies only to state action. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Private Surveillance: Doorbells, Partnerships and the Workplace

State of charge (SOC)

How full a battery is, as a share of its maximum energy; estimated, not directly measured, for lithium-ion. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: The Battery Management System: The Part That Knows Each Cell

State of health (SOH)

Present capacity compared with original capacity; many applications treat 80 percent of rated capacity as the end of useful life. Battery Energy Storage Systems: How They Work, Fail and Burn: The Battery Management System: The Part That Knows Each Cell

Statement of purpose

A short plain-language summary and fiscal note required for every bill by Joint Rule 18, written by a proponent. How Laws and Rules Get Made: From RS number to session law

Statute of limitations

The deadline for filing a lawsuit, counted from when the claim arises. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: How Lava Ridge Could Come Back

Statutory claim

A filing that records an existing beneficial use right. It does not by itself confirm the right. Water, Land and Agriculture: Who Runs Idaho Water: IDWR, the Board and the Adjudications

Steam methane reforming

Making hydrogen by reacting natural gas with steam, which releases CO2. The main way hydrogen is made today. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Hydrogen, Emerging Options and How to Judge a New Energy Claim

Steelmanning

Stating an opposing argument in its strongest form before responding to it. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: The Case For and the Case Against

Stem

One separated part of a mix, such as vocals, drums or bass, delivered as its own audio file. AI for Voice and Music: How AI Music Generation Works

Stranded asset

Infrastructure retired or idled before its costs are paid off, leaving the remaining cost with owners or customers. Natural Gas Power: The debates: bridge or lock-in, cold snaps, and gas versus storage

Infrastructure that loses its value before the end of its expected life because demand for it falls away. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: The AI Slowdown: What the Evidence Shows as of October 2026

Stranded cost

Investment a utility made that customers still pay for after the asset stops being needed, such as a line built for a load that left. Data Centers in Your Community: Power, Water, Land, Money: The Case For and the Case Against

Straw donation

A gift made in one person's name with another person's money; Idaho Code 67-6614 bars giving through others to hide the real source. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Reading a Report Step by Step

Stumpage value

The value of standing timber, in dollars per unit of wood, before it is cut and hauled. Idaho Property Taxes in Depth: Farmland, Timber, Business Equipment and Nonprofits: The Other Big Exemptions

Style exaggeration

A setting that amplifies a voice's characteristic manner. Higher values are more dramatic and less stable. AI for Voice and Music: Voice Studio in Depth

Style prompt

The text description of genre, instruments, tempo, mood and production that steers a music model, separate from the lyrics. AI for Voice and Music: Prompting Songs in MusicStudio and Cleaning Them in SoundStudio

Style sheet

A short document holding the exact prompt wording, palette and references for a series, reused for every image. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Editing, Consistency and Upscaling

Style word

A word that does not carry the subject matter of a text, such as a verb of emphasis or a stock adjective. Most excess words in 2024 abstracts were style words; most excess words during Covid were content words like the name of the virus. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: The Tells: Word Choice, Habits and Invented Facts

Stylometry

Measuring features of writing style, such as word frequencies, sentence length and function words, to compare or attribute authorship. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: How AI Text Detectors Work

Subagency

A committee, commission or board that sits under a public agency and was created by or pursuant to a statute, ordinance or other legislative act. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Who the Law Covers

Subscriber PTO

Subscriber participating transmission owner: a developer whose line, not selected in CAISO's planning process, goes under CAISO's control while its subscribers pay the cost, with nothing added to the Transmission Access Charge. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: CAISO, How It Pays for Lines, and the New Board Above Its Markets

Subscription

In public power projects, the share of a plant's output that member utilities agree to buy. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: Projects planned, deals signed and the cost record

Substantial evidence

Relevant evidence a reasonable mind could accept as enough to support a finding, even if other evidence points the other way. Idaho Planning and Zoning: Reconsideration, Judicial Review and Takings

Substation

A facility with transformers and switches that steps transmission voltage down to a voltage a site can use. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Power Systems: From the Substation to the Server

A fenced yard of transformers, switches and breakers where voltage is changed and lines are connected or cut off. How the Power Grid Works: From Power Plant to Outlet

Substation hub

A major switching point where several high-voltage lines meet, such as Midpoint in south central Idaho or Hemingway in southwest Idaho. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: Three Grids, Seven Market Operators, and a West That Never Joined

Successor clause

A term making the agreement's duties bind anyone who later buys the property or the project. Data Center Planning Issues: Community Benefit Agreements: What They Can and Cannot Enforce

Summary judgment

A ruling that decides claims without a trial because the key facts are not genuinely disputed. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Training Data and Copyright: The Cases So Far

Sunset clause

A provision that makes part of a law expire or change on a set date. Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth: Who the Law Covers

Sunshine Law

The common name for Idaho's campaign finance and disclosure law, created by citizen initiative in 1974 and now in Title 67, Chapter 66 of the Idaho Code. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Idaho Sunshine Law Reports

Super PAC

A federal committee that makes only independent expenditures and may accept unlimited contributions, including from corporations and unions. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Campaign Finance Basics: Limits, PACs and Dark Money

A political committee that can raise and spend unlimited money on independent political activity but cannot coordinate with candidates. Energy, AI and Data Center Policy: What the Orders Say: Who Is Behind It: Officials, Agencies, Companies and Money

Super-emitter

A site or piece of equipment releasing far more methane than typical, often from a malfunction. A small share of sites can account for a large share of emissions. Natural Gas Power: Emissions: CO2, methane leaks, NOx and air permits

Supplemental EIS

An update to an environmental impact statement when the project or the facts change enough to matter. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: How Lava Ridge Could Come Back

Supplemental levy

A voter-approved Idaho school levy for operating costs, approved by majority for up to two years (or indefinitely for qualifying districts). Local Government 101: Budgets, Levies and Bonds: Levies and Bonds: Supplementals, Plant Facilities, Overrides and Debt

Supplemental power

Generation added alongside the existing grid supply, either feeding the grid or serving one customer behind the meter. Supplemental Nuclear: Small Modular Reactors: What makes a reactor small or modular

Supplementary registration

A Copyright Office filing that corrects or adds to an existing registration, used to disclaim AI-generated material after the fact. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Law and Policy: Rules on AI-Generated Text and Its Labels

Suppression

A judge's order barring evidence gathered through an unconstitutional search from being used at trial. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Plate Readers: Results, Misuse, Courts and Pushback

Surveillance ordinance

A local law requiring public approval and reporting before agencies buy or use surveillance technology. Surveillance Technology and Privacy: Records to Request and How to Judge a Surveillance Program Fairly

Swept area

The circle the blades sweep, pi times the blade length squared. Power grows in direct proportion to it. Alternative Energy: Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Storage: Wind: The Cube Law, Capacity Factors and Siting

SWIP-N

Southwest Intertie Project-North, a 285-mile, 500 kV line from Midpoint substation in south central Idaho to Robinson Summit substation near Ely, Nevada. Western Grid Projects: CAISO, Markets, SWIP-N and Hemingway: SWIP-N: Who Owns It, Who Runs It, Who Pays

SWIP-North

The northern segment of the Southwest Intertie Project, a 285-mile, 500 kV line from the Midpoint Substation in south central Idaho to Robinson Summit near Ely, Nevada. Southern Idaho Energy Issues: SWIP-N on the Ground

Switchgear

Large breakers and switches that route, protect and isolate electrical circuits inside a facility. Data Centers: Types, Purposes and How They Work: Power Systems: From the Substation to the Server

SWU

Separative work unit, the standard measure of enrichment effort, used to price enrichment services. Nuclear Power: The fuel cycle: from ore to fuel rod

Syndicated copy

A republished version of an article on another site, such as a news aggregator, instead of the original publisher. Using AI for Research and Writing: Verifying Everything AI Tells You

Synthetic media

In Idaho Code 67-6628A, realistic but false audio or video of a person, made with digital technology, showing speech or conduct that did not happen. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: AI Law and Regulation as of October 2026

Synthetic media (Idaho 67-6628A)

A realistic but false recording of a person's speech or conduct made with digital tools, which a reasonable person would take as real and which gives a very different impression than the original. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: Deepfakes and the Law

Synthetic media (Idaho)

Under Idaho Code 67-6628A, a realistic but false audio or video recording of a person's speech or conduct. Text is not included. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Law and Policy: Rules on AI-Generated Text and Its Labels

Synthetic performer

In New York and California ad laws, an AI-made figure or voice that seems human but is not an identifiable real person. AI for Voice and Music: Voice Cloning Consent and the Law on Voice and Likeness

SynthID

Google DeepMind's invisible watermark for AI-generated images, video, audio and text, checkable with Google's detector. AI Image, Video and Voice Generation: AI Images in News and Advocacy: Illustration versus Evidence

SynthID Text

Google DeepMind's text watermark, described in Nature in October 2024 and released as open-source code in Hugging Face Transformers. It picks each token through a tournament scored by keyed random functions. AI Detection: Spotting Machine-Written Words and Text: Watermarks and Provenance: Marking Machine Text at the Source

System boundary

The line around what an estimate counts: chips only, the whole building, or the full supply chain including manufacturing. AI Issues: Technical, Legal, Social and Logistical: Energy and Water: What Is Measured and What Is Guessed

T

Tabulator

A scanner that reads marked paper ballots and counts the votes; Idaho calls these vote tally systems. Elections and Campaign Finance Reports: Election Security and Audits in Plain Terms

Tariff

The official, commission-approved document listing a utility's rates and terms of service. How the Power Grid Works: How Your Power Bill Is Built

Tax code area

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