VOA标准英语2009年-Liberia Converting Old Rubber Trees to Ele

Work begins this month on a new, environmentally-friendly power plant in Liberia that will use old rubber trees to generate electricity. It is part of a plan to make Liberia the world's first sustainable biomass-driven economy.

Natural rubber has anchored the Liberian economy for more than 75 years. The huge Firestone plantation¹ east of the capital, Monrovia, remains² the world's largest single natural rubber operation and was one of the first businesses to reopen after Liberia's long civil war.

Its continued success is crucial to Liberia's economic recovery. Now, the plantation's eight million rubber trees may help fuel that recovery by producing low-cost electricity.

The firm Buchanan Renewable Energies is building a carbon-neutral power plant using woodchips from older rubber trees to generate 35 megawatts of electricity.
　
An electrician works on a lamp-post in Monrovia the capital city of Liberia (File)

The Liberian Electric Company will then sell that power to people in Monrovia for about half what they are paying now.

Buchanan Renewables President Joel Strickland says it is a low-cost, intermediate solution to Liberia's energy needs, while repairs to the Mt. Coffee hydroelectric facility are at least five years away.

Workers break ground on the new power plant this month. Strickland says it will have the capacity to double the initial 35 megawatts of electricity, once the nation's power grid³ is improved.

"The rubber chips are available. The biomass is here. The difficulty is the distribution is not there," said Strickland. "So LEC, once they receive the power have to be able to deliver it to the consumer. So all the wires stringing the distribution needs to be done on a more rapid basis and faster so we can get out to the consumer."

Using non-performing rubber trees as a source of power also helps rejuvenate⁴ rubber production by making room for new planting. If properly managed, clearing and replanting trees in a 30-year cycle creates both a renewable source of energy and maximum rubber production.

Liberia is also gaining from the export of woodchips to Europe, where they are used as either biomass for energy production or in the manufacture of fiber⁵ board.

Strickland says Liberia has shipped 30,000 tons of woodchips this year and will export another 30,000 tons before the end of the year. He expects to top that in 2010 with more than 200,000 tons of woodchip exports.

National Investment Commission Chairman Richard Tolbert says Buchanan Renewable's $150-million investment demonstrates the strength of both Liberia's commitment to renewable energy and its investment climate.

"So despite all of what is going on in the world - the global financial crisis - instead of investors⁶ pulling back, investors are continuing to come to us here in Liberia," said Tolbert. "That is very tangible⁷ proof that we are doing the right thing."

Strickland says the project will create more than 400 new jobs by the end of the year.

"As we expand, we will be creating jobs in Margibi. We will be creating jobs in Bong County where we are starting to operate, certainly Montserado with the power plant and the distribution," added Strickland. "So our goal really as we go about is to have close relations with both the political authorities as well as civil society because that is where we are drawing our employees from."

Beyond the hiring of its own employees, Buchanan Renewable's generation of lower-cost electricity should lead to further job growth as small businesses will spend less on utilities.

Tolbert says employment is the key in a nation still recovering from conflict where the United Nations estimates formal sector⁸ unemployment at 80 percent.

"Business is coming. Investment is coming. And what does this mean? This means jobs, my friend. Jobs. Jobs. Jobs. That is the key to the economic and security, long-term stability of this country," said Tolbert. "That is all we are about, as far as I am concerned. Jobs even over revenue. We are trying to create jobs so everybody can make their own living as opposed to depending on the government for a hand-out."

The Buchanan Renewable investment has already improved roads, bridges, and ports in Liberia. It says a portion of profits from the project will be given as grants to social program.

The company says its goal is to generate electricity from natural, non-edible, renewable and sustainable resources indigenous⁹ to West Africa with projects that focus on reducing the emission¹⁰ of greenhouse gases.

1 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 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。

4 rejuvenate   

v.(使)返老还童；(使)恢复活力

参考例句：

• The mountain air will rejuvenate you.山里的空气会使你恢复活力。
• Exercise is perhaps the most effective way to rejuvenate your skin.锻炼可能是使皮肤恢复活力的最好手段。

5 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

8 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

9 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

10 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。