AGRICULTURE REPORT - Using Water to Produce Electricity

AGRICULTURE REPORT - Using Water to Produce Electricity
By Gary Garriott

Broadcast: Tuesday, May 04, 2004

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

The power of flowing water can be used to produce electricity. This can be done anywhere there is water and a hill for it to flow down rapidly¹.

Micro-hydro systems produce electric power from water. These small water-powered systems can produce up to fifteen kilowatts² of electrical power. This is enough to provide electricity for a village of fifty to eighty houses to use to power lights and small motors³. It does not provide enough power for industrial uses. Micro-hydro systems are important for villages that are near water and do not have electric power.

Before you begin the project, you should make sure that people living near you approve. People protest⁴ if there is less water for them to use for their crops or for washing clothes.

Building or buying a micro-hydro system requires planning. First, someone has to estimate⁵ the amount of electrical power the falling water can produce. It is a complex⁶ process. It is necessary to find out how far the water drops and to measure the amount of water that flows past an area each second. These numbers can show how much electrical power can be produced. Then you can buy or build a micro-hydro system of the right size.

Next you need to decide if falling water needs to flow inside a pipe or can flow freely⁷. A long pipe costs more, but the water is easier to control. Even if the water flows freely, it must enter a piece of pipe just before it flows into a machine called a turbine⁸. The water flowing through the pipe turns a large wheel in the turbine around. The turbine sends the power to a generator⁹ that creates electricity.

Heavy rain can cause a problem for a micro-hydro system. The rain carries grass, leaves and other material into waterways. This can cause the turbine to stop turning. The problem can be prevented by placing steel bars in the pipe before the water flows into the turbine. These steel bars catch the material before it can damage the machine.

People who can use flowing water to produce electricity have a free supply of energy. You can get more information about projects like this from the group Volunteers in Technical Assistance¹⁰. VITA is on the Internet at vita.org.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Gary Garriott.

1 rapidly   

adv.快地，迅速地

参考例句：

• The company has grown rapidly in the last five years.这家公司近五年来迅速地发展壮大。
• Ice changes into water rapidly on a hot day.天气炎热的时候，冰很快就化为水。

2 kilowatts   

千瓦( kilowatt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's about 500 kilowatts per hour on average. 年用电量平均为每小时500千瓦。 来自商贸英语会话
• We have an emergency-standby electric generator with a capacity of 300 kilowatts. 我们有一台三百千瓦的事故备用发电机。

3 motors   

n.马达，发动机( motor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The United Auto Workers hit the bricks against General Motors. 联合汽车工人工会举行罢工，反对通用汽车公司。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The whine of the motors jangled her nerves. 马达的闹声使她的神经受不了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 protest   

v.反对，抗议；宣称；n.抗议；宣称

参考例句：

• I can't pass the matter by without a protest.我不能对此事视而不见，我要提出抗议。
• We translated his silence as a protest.我们把他的沉默解释为抗议。

5 estimate   

n.估计，估量；评价，看法；vt.估计，估量

参考例句：

• We estimate the cost to be five thousand dollars.我们估计费用为5000美元。
• The lowest estimate would put the worth of the jewel at ＄200.按最低的评估这块宝石也值200美元。

6 complex   

adj.复杂的，合成的，综合的；n.联合体

参考例句：

• What he said was too complex for me to understand.他说的太复杂了，我无法了解。
• Justice is part of the complex machinery of the law.正义是复杂的法律机器的一部分。

7 freely   

adv.自由地，随便地，无拘无束地

参考例句：

• She was unable to keep back her tears,and wept freely.她抑制不住泪水，痛痛快快地哭了起来。
• A liquid flows freely and has no fixed shape.液体能自由流动，无固定形态。

8 turbine   

n.涡轮机，叶轮机，透平机

参考例句：

• A disadvantage of the turbine is that it is not reversible.涡轮机的一个缺点就是它不可以反转。
• Before the air enters the turbine，fuel is sprayed into it.在空气进入涡轮之前，燃料就喷进了。

9 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

10 assistance   

n.援助，帮助

参考例句：

• She called and called but no one came to her assistance.她叫了又叫，但没有人来帮。
• He will get the great possible assistance.他将获得尽可能大的帮助。