歌词
From VOA Learning English,
this is the Technology Report.
The world's largest solar thermal plant
is set to begin producing power
in the United States by the end of the year.
Wind and energy from the sun
are generally considered clean,
unlike energy from coal-burning power stations.
However, environmentalists now worry
that to much solar power development
could harm the local environment.
A California company -- BrightSource Energy
is building a huge solar power plant
in the Mojave desert,
about 60 kilometers southwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.
The plant is known as the Ivanpah
Solar Electric Generating System.
Joe Desmond works for the company.
"This is actually one of the highest concentrations
of sunlight in the world,
out here in Ivanpah," explained Desmond.
BrightSource Energy will deploy 170,000 specially designed mirrors
to direct solar energy towards boilers on top of three power towers.
The steam produced in the boilers
will drive turbines to make electricity.
Joe Desmond says the steam can reach temperatures
of more than 260 degrees Celsius.
"We can store the sun's thermal energy
in the form of molten salt,
so we can produce electricity even when the sun goes down.
There is a lot of interest in concentrating solar power
around the globe in environments where you have lots of sun,
such as China, South Africa, the Middle East,
North Africa," explained Desmond.
Environmentalists generally support the idea of solar power,
however, many are concerned about the effect of power plants
on sensitive environment.
Lisa Belenky is a lawyer with the Center for Biological Diversity,
a private group.
She says environmentalists are specifically worried
about the effect of the Ivanpah Solar Project
on the sensitive plant and animal life in that part of Mojave desert.
"Even though the desert seems big,
when you start cutting it up,
it can really affect how the species and the animals
and the plants are able to survive in the long run," said Lisa Belenky.
BrightSource Energy has already spent more than $50 million
to move endangered desert tortoises away from the power plant,
but Lisa Belenky says this is not the answer.
"We should be reusing areas that have already been disturbed,
[like] old mining sites, for example...
either on homes, on businesses, parking lots," said Belenky.
There have also been reports of birds dying
at the Ivanpah Plant and others like it.
Some birds die after colliding with solar equipment
which the animals mistake for water.
Other birds were killed or suffered burns
after flying through the intense heat at the solar thermal plant.
As solar projects increase, environmentalists and developers
are considering what to do to reduce bird death.
And that is the Technology Report from VOA Learning English.