密歇根新闻广播 新费米3核反应堆是个选择

 

Alarms are going off. People are checking gauges¹, trying to determine what's wrong.

We're in a large simulator of a nuclear reactor² control room at the DTE Energy Fermi 2 power plant on Lake Erie near Monroe. Employees are being trained to deal with just about any foreseeable problem a nuclear power plant might face.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved permits for building another nuclear reactor which would be called Fermi 3. Despite the government approval, DTE Energy spokesman Guy Cerullo says nothing is definite.

"We have the license³ and that's a great option to have for the future. There are several factors that would play into whether or not we build and if and when at what point we would build the plant," Cerullo explained.

Those factors include things such as the price of coal and natural gas, the customer energy demand, the cost of building the plant, and government regulations on carbon emissions⁴. A nuclear plant emits no greenhouse gases.

The cost of building a nuclear plant is a huge factor. And the exact price is not clear.

"We do not have a cost estimate at this point," Cerullo said.

Based on the price of other recent nuclear power plants in the U.S., it's been estimated by others that Fermi 3 might cost $10 billion. However, nuclear power plants almost always go over budget. Fermi 2 ended up costing three times the original estimate.

Critics say building Fermi 3 would be a huge gamble amounting to billions that DTE ratepayers would have to pay.

Jeff Alson is an environmental engineer and a member of the Alliance to Halt Fermi 3.

"Regardless of what you think about all the health and safety issues – which concern me, but people have different opinions about those – but the economics of nuclear power have been such a disaster," Alson said.

With the electricity market changing so quickly, shifting from coal to natural gas, the increased use of wind and solar power, and the developing technologies to store energy, DTE should talk to its ratepayers about what kind of energy they want to pay for in the future.

"DTE and the other big utilities are kind of that last vestige⁵ of the 1950s kind of corporate⁶ structure where they know what's best for everybody and they don't care what their customers think. I just feel like DTE needs to come clean and talk to the public about this choice," Alson said.

An analyst⁷ of energy in the Midwest, Sam Gomberg with Unions of Concerned Scientists agrees there's plenty to be concerned about.

"There's a tremendous amount of risk around building a nuclear plant," Gomberg said in a phone interview.

He says that risk goes beyond the chance of a meltdown or not having anywhere to permanently⁸ store spent nuclear fuel.

"This is a 10-year project minimum that we're looking at before this thing might come on line. And what is the world going to look like in 10 years? And in 10 years when you're about to flip⁹ the switch on that nuclear reactor, are you going to look around you and say, ‘Eh, I wish I would have done something different,'" Gomberg suggested.

Officials at DTE say they're aware of the risks. Guy Cerullo says Fermi 3 is just a nice option to have.

"Right now, we will not be building Fermi 3. Natural gas generation is the best baseload option out there right now and renewables as well as a supplementary¹⁰ mode of generation for customers," Cerullo said.

Adding up the solar and wind DTE currently generates in Michigan and the wind power it buys from outside sources, renewable energy is 10% of its energy portfolio¹¹.

1 gauges   

n.规格( gauge的名词复数 )；厚度；宽度；标准尺寸v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的第三人称单数 )；估计；计量；划分

参考例句：

• A thermometer gauges the temperature. 温度计可测量温度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fuel gauges dropped swiftly. 燃料表指针迅速下降。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

3 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

4 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

5 vestige   

n.痕迹，遗迹，残余

参考例句：

• Some upright stones in wild places are the vestige of ancient religions.荒原上一些直立的石块是古老宗教的遗迹。
• Every vestige has been swept away.一切痕迹都被一扫而光。

6 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

9 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

10 supplementary   

adj.补充的，附加的

参考例句：

• There is a supplementary water supply in case the rain supply fails.万一主水源断了，我们另外有供水的地方。
• A supplementary volume has been published containing the index.附有索引的增补卷已经出版。

11 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。