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  3. Beside the 580 Freeway east of the San Francisco Ray, the hills are alive with the sound of whooshing. Wind turbines cover the h

Beside the 580 Freeway east of the San Francisco Ray, the hills are alive with the sound of whooshing. Wind turbines cover the h

admin2015-09-30  59
问题     Beside the 580 Freeway east of the San Francisco Ray, the hills are alive with the sound of whooshing. Wind turbines cover the hills for miles around, some like giant eggbeaters but most looking like big airplane propellers on poles, spinning in the near-constant breeze through Altamont Pass. When it was built starting in 1981, this was the largest wind farm in the world, and it cemented California’s place as a pioneer in alternative energy.【F1】Now it’s an outdated relic, relying on old-fashioned technology that produces less power and kills more birds than modern equipment.
    Wind turbines, especially the older devices in California, can be buzz saws for birds and bats, though newer, taller turbines seem less deadly. In any case, a study by the National Academy of Sciences found no evidence that wind farms are decreasing bird populations; global warming is a much bigger threat to birds and bats than wind blades.【F2】Renewable power is too important lo allow such projects to be derailed by narrow interest groups, which is why California and other states should take steps to streamline the approval process.
    Resides community opposition, a key roadblock is the lack of transmission lines.【F3】Wind power has a classic chicken-and-egg problem: Investors don’t want to build wind farms unless lines already exist to connect them to urban centers, and utilities don’t want to add lines until the turbines are spinning. California, Texas and two other states have come up with a solution. In April, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission signed off on a plan to shift part of the cost of power lines to California consumers.【F4】Utilities can charge higher rates to pay for building lines to high-wind areas; once generators connect to the lines, the cost will be recovered via access charges paid by the wind farms. This should become a national model.
    【F5】The first to benefit from the new regulation will probably be a transmission project from Southern California Edison that is eventually expected to carry 4 ,500 megawatts from wind farms planned in Tehachapi—that’s the equivalent of two nuclear power plants the size of San Onofre, or enough to power 2. 9 million homes.
【F3】
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答案风力发电是个典型的先有鸡还是先有蛋的问题：投资者不愿意建设风力发电场，除非可通到城市中心电线已经架好了；供电局不愿意架设电线，除非发电厂已经开始运行。
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