VOA标准英语2009年-Texas Wind Power Museum Shows Way to Sustainabl

One of the key sources of renewable energy being developed today is wind power, utilizing¹ giant turbines to generate electricity. These work best in windy places like the U.S. Great Plains that stretch from west Texas in the south to the Dakotas in the north. Wind power is nothing new in this region, where windmills have long played an important role in pumping water from underground aquifers² and in milling grain.
　
Wind turbine with old windmills at American Wind Power Center and Museum in Lubbock, Texas

Windmills were once seen on almost every farm and ranch³ in the American heartland. The expansion of electrical service and the use of electric pumps brought an end to the windmill era, but visitors can still see dozens of these classic devices at the American Wind Power Center and Museum in Lubbock, Texas. Around 90 windmills of various sizes and types are maintained inside the museum's massive building in Lubbock, on the Texas panhandle.
　
Coy Harris

Executive director Coy Harris says machines that harvest wind power make a lot of sense in this part of west Texas.

"We see the wind blow a lot around here and it is a shame to just see it blowing dust," he said. "We might as well do something with it."

The Wind Power Center obtains most of its operating power from a wind turbine atop a 50-meter-tall tower in its windmill park. On good, windy days the turbine often produces more electricity than the center needs, so the excess is sold to the local power company. On days when the turbine is not producing enough power, the center draws electricity from the local grid⁴.

But since wind is intermittent⁵, Coy Harris says cities and towns cannot rely on wind exclusively.

"They are going to still have to have coal-fired plants and everything else because people still want to have electricity even when the wind is not blowing," he said.
　
Glenn Patton

American Wind Power Center Development Director Glenn Patton says wind-generated electricity has great potential, but it is partly limited by out-of-date infrastructure⁶.

"The problem is we have a grid system in certain areas that goes back to the 1940s, '50s and '60s and that grid system cannot handle the power of a wind turbine," he said.

But wind farms are being successfully operated in many parts of west Texas including a cotton processing plant near Lubbock. There are also plans to develop wind farms on the Gulf⁷ of Mexico coast, another windy area not far from major urban zones like Houston and San Antonio.

"The places where you do see wind farms, either they are in a good area and have access to a major grid system or you will start seeing some wind turbines that actually will power or provide power to a particular manufacturing plant," he said.

But plans are under way here in Texas and elsewhere to connect wind farms in windy zones to grids⁸ in far away cities where demand is high.
　
Windmill in Texas

T. Boone Pickens, who made many billions of dollars in the oil and gas industry, is investing in a large wind farm to be built in the Texas panhandle. Pickens estimates that more than 20 percent of the electrical power used in the United States in coming years could be produced by wind power.

His goal is to connect his turbines in west Texas to the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan⁹ area grid, but at least part of his plan has been sidetracked by the recent drop in oil and gas prices that make wind power less economical.

One of the big drawbacks of wind power is that its output cannot be regulated the way a plant fired by natural gas or coal can. Researchers are looking for effective ways to store excess energy for later use.

Glenn Patton says inventors more than a century ago developed efficient windmills using basic, but elegant mechanisms¹⁰. He says such innovation today may make wind power more viable¹¹ as part of a basket of renewable sources of energy to power America's future.

1 utilizing   

v.利用，使用( utilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Utilizing an assembler to produce a machine-language program. 用汇编程序产生机器语言的过程。 来自辞典例句
• The study and use of devices utilizing properties of materials near absolute zero in temperature. 对材料在接近绝对零度时的特性进行研究和利用的学科。 来自辞典例句

2 aquifers   

n.地下蓄水层，砂石含水层( aquifer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• And in Africa, the aquifers barely recharge at all. 非洲的地下水开采以后几乎得不到补充。 来自时文部分
• Aquifers have water contents over 30%. 含水层的水含过30％。 来自辞典例句

3 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

4 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。

5 intermittent   

adj.间歇的，断断续续的

参考例句：

• Did you hear the intermittent sound outside?你听见外面时断时续的声音了吗？
• In the daytime intermittent rains freshened all the earth.白天里，时断时续地下着雨，使整个大地都生气勃勃了。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

8 grids   

n.格子( grid的名词复数 )；地图上的坐标方格；（输电线路、天然气管道等的）系统网络；（汽车比赛）赛车起跑线

参考例句：

• Typical framed structures are beams, grids, plane and space frames or trusses. 典型构架结构为梁、格栅、平面的和空间的框架或桁架。 来自辞典例句
• The machines deliver trimmed grids for use or stock. 这种机器铸出修整过的板栅，以供使用或储存。 来自辞典例句

9 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

10 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。