VOA慢速英语2021--风能生产的国际竞争日益激烈

International Competition for Wind Energy Production Growing

Governments worldwide are expected to seek more proposals for wind power stations to produce electricity in coastal¹ areas this year.

The new international wind power developments could produce more than 30 gigawatts of electricity. That is almost as much as the 35 gigawatts currently produced around the world. Some industry experts say the business environment for wind power is very competitive.

Several European oil companies including Total, BP and Shell plan to quickly expand their renewable energy businesses. They aim to reduce dependence⁴ on oil and gas production to satisfy investors⁵ who want long-term business plans that result in less pollution. Many governments are also ordering electricity companies to meet increasingly lower pollution targets.

Big oil companies are entering the renewable power market although it is less profitable than traditional operations. Earlier this year, BP and German company EnBW paid a record price for development rights to two offshore⁶ areas that could produce three gigawatts of electricity. The sites are near the coast of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The developers pay a yearly amount before making a final investment decision. The payment for BP and EnBW will amount to almost $1.4 billion made in four yearly payments for rights to the areas.

Offshore wind power developers, Iberdrola, Orsted and SSE all confirmed to Reuters they had unsuccessfully sought the contract.

Some experts say the high fees threaten the cost reductions the industry has gained over the past 10 years. Mark Lewis is with BNP Paribas, a French banking⁷ group. He said the recent fee deal would add around 35 percent to project development costs.

BP said the fee was reasonable considering the area of the sites in the Irish Sea. He said they are not in deep water and are close to land. The company said the conditions at the sites will permit shorter, less costly⁸ connection wiring.

But, some in the industry have expressed concern. Ben Backwell is chief of the Global Wind Energy Council, an industry group. He said there are not enough projects to meet demand.

"So you are going to create an over-heated market when what we want to see is more opportunities made available," he said.

Julien Pouget is a renewable energy expert with the French oil company Total. He said the technology is developing quickly. He noted⁹ announcements about larger wind turbines. He said the development makes his company hopeful about cost reductions that will make operations profitable.

Britain oversees¹⁰ the development contracts. The country guarantees producers a minimum price for electricity. But because industry costs are falling, the guaranteed price is now the lowest it has ever been: 30 percent lower than in 2017.

Asia and the U.S. are relatively¹¹ new markets

Britain is the world's largest offshore wind market. It is estimated that 10 gigawatts of electricity can be produced there.

European countries including Denmark, Poland and France are expected to hold competitive sales of development rights called auctions¹² this year.

In the United States, President Joe Biden wants to deploy¹³ 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. There are currently 13 projects in development. They are expected to produce around 9.1 gigawatts of electricity and might begin operation by 2026.

Spanish energy company Iberdrola is already involved in development proposals in the American states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts through its U.S. group, Avangrid. BP agreed to pay $1.1 billion in a deal last year to buy one-half of two U.S. developments from the Norwegian company Equinor.

In Asia, Japan plans to develop up to 10 gigawatts of offshore wind electricity by 2030. The country plans to expand that amount to 30 to 45 gigawatts by 2040.

Iberdrola bought Japanese developer Acacia Renewables last year. It said it expects to take part in the sales in Japan.

However, experts warned that new areas cannot expect high prices for development rights, also called seabed leases. And they cannot expect to offer price guarantees as low as Britain's. Backwell of the Global Wind Energy Council said the industry in Asia and in the U.S. is still developing.

He said: "Each region has to build up its own industry and skills before they can expect to see the most competitive prices."

Words in This Story

gigawatt –n. a unit of power equal to one billion watts³; a watt² is a measure of energy

offshore –adj. in the ocean away from the coast

opportunity –n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done; a chance to do or gain something

turbine –n. an engine that has a part with blades that turn because of pressure from water, steam or air

minimum –adj. the lowest possible amount

1 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

2 watt   

n.瓦，瓦特

参考例句：

• The invention of the engine is creditable to Watt.发动机的发明归功于瓦特。
• The unit of power is watt.功率的单位是瓦特。

3 watts   

（电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦，我的烤面包器用600瓦。
• My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。

4 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

5 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

6 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

7 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

11 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

12 auctions   

n.拍卖，拍卖方式( auction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They picked up most of the furniture at auctions in country towns. 他们大部分的家具都是在乡村镇上的拍卖处买的。 来自辞典例句
• Our dealers didn't want these cars, so we had to dump them at auctions. 我们的承销商都不要这些车子，因此我们只好贱价拍卖。 来自辞典例句

13 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。