VOA常速英语2014--非洲太阳能发电厂或将供应欧洲电力（在线收听）

Solar Power Plant in Africa to Supply Europe 非洲太阳能发电厂或将供应欧洲电力

WASHINGTON— 

By 2018, a large solar power plant in the Tunisian part of the Sahara desert may start sending power to energy-hungry Western Europe. The company running the plant says once it is fully operational it will generate almost twice as much electricity as an average nuclear plant and supply two million homes in Europe. 

According to the European Commission's Institute for Energy, just 0.3 percent of the Saharan Desert's intense solar energy can provide Europe with all the electrical power it needs.

欧盟委员会能源研究所表示只要撒哈拉沙漠0.3%的太阳能可以满足欧洲所有电力所需。

A company called Nur Energy plans to capture some of it by building a solar plant similar to an Israeli one in the Negev desert that uses heliotropic mirrors. This technology, unlike photovoltaic cells, can generate energy even when the sky is overcast or at night.

一家名为努尔能源的公司计划通过建立类似于以色列内盖夫沙漠向日性镜子的太阳能电厂获取太阳能。与光伏电池不同的是，即使是阴天或晚上这种技术也可以产生能量。

Thousands of mirrors, spread over 100 square kilometers, will concentrate sunlight to a tower where it heats and melts a special salt.

电厂内蔓延100平方公里成千上万的镜子将阳光汇聚在一个塔内,通过加热将特殊的盐融化。

Kevin Sara is the CEO of Nur Energy, said the technology makes storage easy.

努尔能源的首席执行官凯文·萨拉表示这项技术会使得能量存储变得更加简单。

非洲太阳能发电厂.jpg

"You can then store that heat very easily, so you can continue producing electricity after the sun goes down.”

“你很轻易就可以储存热能,所以太阳下山了你也可以继续发电。”

In a heat exchanger, the molten salt turns water into steam for turbines that turn electrical generators.

在热交换器中,融化的盐将水转化成蒸汽从而带动涡轮发电机。

Sara said the project could significantly decrease use of fossil fuels in Europe.

莎拉表示这个项目可以显著减少欧洲对于化石燃料的依赖。

"We could gradually decarbonize the European grid using desert power, using this solar energy with storage from the Sahara desert and linked to Europe with high-voltage DC cables which are very, very low in their losses.”

“我们能够逐渐对欧洲电网在使用沙漠电能中进行减碳处理,使用来自撒哈拉沙漠的太阳能并且用高压直流电缆为欧洲送电,损失会降到最低。”

The cable link to Europe is another interesting part of the project.

而连接到欧洲的一条电缆则是该项目另一个有趣的部分。

Instead of the usual alternating current transmission, Nur Energy plans to send the power by a dedicated direct current underwater cable.

努尔能源并非使用通常的交流传输,这家公司计划使用专门的直流水下电缆送电。

Power being sent through the cable has a loss rate of just 3 percent per 1,000 kilometers. In addition to being cheaper, this technology requires no synchronization between different AC transmission systems.

通过这种方式送电的损失率为1000公里仅损耗3%。除了价格更为低廉以外,这种技术也不需要不同的交流传输系统之间进行同步。

Recently, Tunisia held its second democratic parliamentary elections. Sara said the solar energy project could contribute to the country's stability.

最近,突尼斯举行了第二次民主议会选举。莎拉表示太阳能项目可能为国家带来稳定。

"A lot of this equipment can be manufactured by local Tunisian companies, and that will create employment and employment opportunities for the Tunisian youth.”

“突尼斯当地很多家公司可以生产各种所需设备,这将为突尼斯创造就业和就业机会。”

The construction of the solar plant in southwestern Tunisia is expected to start by the end of 2016, with the first kilowatts being delivered by late 2018.

突尼斯西南部的这座太阳能电厂预计将在2016年底开始建设,2018年底投入使用。