经济学人:爱尔兰能源 泥炭向风能过渡(2)

 　　The renewable resource now provides a quarter of the electricity Ireland consumes every year. 现在每年提供爱尔兰电力消耗的四分之一是可再生资源。

　　Eirgrid, a state-owned company which manages the grid¹ in both Northern Ireland and the Republic, says much more wind capacity is in the planning stages. Eirgrid是一家管理北爱尔兰和爱尔兰共和国电网的国有企业，该公司表示，更多的风能发电尚处规划阶段。

　　Wind is difficult to manage because it is unpredictable, even on the blustery shores of western Ireland. 风力是很难管理的，因为它是不可预测的-即使是在大风呼啸的爱尔兰西部海岸。

　　Since wind turbines do not turn consistently, the grid must be carefully tuned² to keep it stable. 由于风力发电机的不一致，输网格必须调整好以保持稳定。

　　One way around this is to export excess power that takes the grid beyond the point of stability. 解决这一问题的方法之一是输出多余的电力，使电网超出稳定的程度。

　　This is the trick used by Denmark, amongst others, whose grid is linked to those of Germany, Sweden and Norway. 这是丹麦使用的技巧，即使输电网格与德国，瑞典和挪威相似。

　　Ireland already has two connections to Britain. 爱尔兰与英国已经有两种连接方式。

　　At night, these cables provide hundreds of megawatts of Irish wind power to its neighbour. 晚上，这些电缆向邻国提供了数百兆瓦的爱尔兰风力发电。

　　Eirgrid is planning a cable to continental³ Europe. Eirgrid表明计划要将电缆延伸至到欧洲大陆。

　　A report from SEAI, Ireland's energy authority, suggests that the island could generate enough wind electricity to match domestic demand by 2030, with more left over to export. SEAI报道称，爱尔兰的能源部门表明岛上可以产生足够的风电提供给国内需求直到2030年（包含更多用以输出的过剩产能）。

　　That would be good timing⁴. 这将是一个好时机。

　　Bord na Móna, the body responsible for developing Ireland's peatlands, has said it will stop extracting peat for electricity by the same year. 负责开发爱尔兰的地区已表示将停止同年提取泥炭来发电。

1 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

2 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

4 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。