美国国家公共电台 NPR California Prepares For An Eclipse Of Its Solar Power

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

People across the country are gearing up for the solar eclipse on Monday - and not just spectators - energy supply managers, too, especially where you are, David.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Yeah, that's right. Almost half the solar power in the United States is generated right here in the state of California. And as Lauren Sommer of member station KQED explains, the eclipse will mean a dip for the power grid¹.

LAUREN SOMMER, BYLINE²: Solar power already comes with ups and downs in the form of clouds, of course. Just ask Jan Klube of the company Enphase, which monitors solar farms around the country day in and day out.

JAN KLUBE: So this was a particular cloudy day.

SOMMER: Klube pulls up a graph showing the solar output from one California home. In the morning, the sun comes up. The power starts flowing. But in the afternoon...

KLUBE: All right, you see the big drop. So there's a cloud coming and going. That's why you see the zigzag³.

SOMMER: It drops by about a third. But say your solar panels are getting no sun at all because they're in the path of totality during the eclipse.

KLUBE: It will go all the way to zero.

SOMMER: Effectively, nighttime. California isn't in the full path, but the state will lose 90 percent of the sun in the north down to nearly 60 percent in the south, more than enough to cause some anxiety for the people who have to keep California's lights on.

DEANE LYON: We're doing a lot of coordination⁴ and a lot of preparation. It's probably the most work this company has done to prepare for a three-hour event in our history.

SOMMER: Deane Lyon works at the California Independent System Operator, which runs most of the state's electric grid. Solar has been booming in California. Some days, it's as much as 40 percent of the state's power supply. The eclipse will mean solar output is cut roughly in half over the course of several hours.

LYON: We're also going to see a demand increase from the loss of the commercial and residential⁵ rooftop solar.

SOMMER: All those buildings that normally use rooftop solar will need the grid instead. Add that to the loss from big solar farms, and California will need to fill a power gap equal to what 6 million homes use. Other leading solar states, like North Carolina and Nevada, will also see a hit to a smaller degree. But Lyon says not to worry.

LYON: Luckily, we had a really good water year this year, so we'll have some pretty good flexibility⁶ on the hydro.

SOMMER: And what hydropower dams can't make up for, natural gas power plants will. Supply always has to meet demand. Otherwise, you get blackouts. Grid operators say they're prepared because with renewable energy on the rise, they already deal with power dips every day and have improved their forecasting. But Lyon says the next eclipse in 2024 could be an even bigger challenge with even more solar in the mix.

LYON: It'll be a major thing for the people running the grid at that time to manage. It won't be me. I'll hopefully be retired⁷ for several years by then.

SOMMER: Energy officials are asking Californians to turn off lights and conserve⁸ on Monday just to give the grid a little extra help. For NPR News, I'm Lauren Sommer in San Francisco.

(SOUNDBITE OF MONO/POLY'S "INTERGALACTIC")

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 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 zigzag   

n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行

参考例句：

• The lightning made a zigzag in the sky.闪电在天空划出一道Z字形。
• The path runs zigzag up the hill.小径向山顶蜿蜒盘旋。

4 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

5 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

6 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！