→ Wind and solar energy aredisruptinga century-old model of providing electricity.
disrupt: to cause disorder or turmoil in
(Turmoilis a state of confusion, disorder, uncertainty, or great anxiety.)
→ [business] toradically change(an industry, business strategy, etc.), asby introducinganewproduct or service that creates a new market
(radically: in a complete or basic manner; thoroughly; fundamentally.)
e.g. ① The newsdisruptedtheir conference.
② It’s time todisruptyourold business model.
【Word Origin】
[Latin] disruptus (variant of dīruptus, past participle of dīrumpere; dī- di-2 + rumpere to break), equivalent todis-+ rup-break+ -tuspast participle suffixa
↑dis-: Latin prefix meaning“apart,”“asunder,” “away,” “utterly,” or having aprivative, negative, or reversing force
【形近词】
interrupt: to cause or make abreakin thecontinuity or uniformityof (a course, process, condition, etc.).
corrupt: to destroy the integrity of; cause to be dishonest, disloyal, etc., especially bybribery.
→ …"In front of you, you can see the death of the conventionalutility, all financed by Mr and Mrs Schmidt. It's a beautiful sight." The wind blowing across Wildpoldsried towards the Alps lazily turns theturbineson the hills above.
utility: apublic service, as a telephone or electric-light system, a streetcar or railroad line, or the like.
→public utility: a business enterprise, as a public-service corporation, performing an essential public service and regulated by the federal, state, or local government.
e.g. Goldwater co-chairs a campaign to “stand up toutilitymonopolies to ensure solar energy remains strong in America.”
【词汇延伸】
[economics] the capacity of a commodity or a service tosatisfy some human want
turbine: A turbine is a machine or engine which uses a stream of air, gas, water, or steam to turn a wheel andproduce power.
→ The south-facing roofs of the houses,barnsandcowshedsare blanketed with bluephotovoltaic (PV)solar panels.
barn: a building forstoring hay, grain, etc., and often for housing livestock.
e.g. From the roof of thebarnis a long loop of rope, through this the turkey is suspended by its legs.
cowshed: ashedserving as a shelter for cows.
(shed: a slight or rude structure built for shelter, storage, etc.)
photovoltaic (PV): of, concerned with, or producing electric current or voltage caused by electromagnetic radiation, espvisible lightfrom the sun
photo-from Greekphōs, phōt-light+voltaicsgalvanic(of, producing, or concerned with anelectric current, esp a direct current produced chemically)
PV 指利用太阳能发电，光伏行业。 由于这种电力方式不会产生氮氧化物，以及对人体有害的气体与辐射性废弃物，被称为「清洁发电技术」。
→ The cows on the green fields producemanurethat generates biogas which warms the Biergarten, the sports hall and many of the houses where the 2,600 villagers live, as well as backing up the wind and solar generators in winter.
manure:excrement, especiallyof animals, or other refuse used as fertilizer.
(excrement: waste matter discharged from the body, especially feces)
→ And the things it is based on —subsidiesfor investment, very little spending on fuel, and moving electricity generation to the edge of , or off, thegrid— areanathemato electricity markets and business models developed for the fossil-fuel age.
subsidy: adirectpecuniary aidfurnishedbya governmenttoa private industrial undertaking, a charity organization, or the like.
(pecuniary: 1. of or relating tomoney2. consisting of or given or exacted in money or monetary payments)
【Synonyms】subsidy vs.subvention
# bothgrants of money, especially governmental, to aid private undertakings.
→ Asubsidyis usually given to promotecommercial enterprise.
→ Asubventionis usually a grant to stimulate enterprises connected with science and the arts.
State Grid
grid: asystemof electrical distribution serving a large area, especially by means of high-tension lines.
【词汇延伸】
iPhone camera中的网格线模式'Grid' (见下图↓)
“Grid” in iPhone Camera
anathema: a person or thing accursed or consigned todamnationordestruction.
→ Few greens wouldmournthem. But the fall in utilityrevenuesthat comes with the spread of places like Wildpoldsried is not just bad news for fossil-fuel-eraincumbentsin the generation and transmission businesses.
mourn: to feel or expresssorroworgriefover (misfortune, loss, or anything regretted); deplore.
e.g. We shake our heads, and feel grateful for what we have, andmournwhat others have lost.
【Antonyms】laugh at, rejoice
【词汇延伸】revenue, income, profit
In accordance withIFRS 15Revenue from Contracts with Customers:
income:Increasesineconomic benefitsduring the accounting period in the form ofinflows or enhancements of assetsordecreases of liabilitiesthat result in an increase in equity, other than those relating to contributions from equity participants
revenue:Incomearising in the course of an entity'sordinary activities
incumbent: (adj.) holding an indicated position, role, office, etc., currently; (noun.) the holder of an office
e.g. ① There was no way anincumbentpresident sitting on these kinds of economic figures could possibly be reelected.
② But the first job of a party out of power is to convince voters to fire theincumbent.
→ The EU's emissions-trading scheme is aperennialdisappointment: still, hope springs eternal, as witness a recent attempt to persuade the new American administration of the benefits of arevenue-neutraleconomy-wide carbon tax devoted to providing $2,000 to every family of four inrebates.
perennial: lasting for an indefinitely long time; enduring
e.g. And of course there are theperennialstoriesabout how the new models are really fragile and easy to break, or are easy to hack.
【Synonym】long-lasting, everlasting perpetual
revenue-neutral: Taxing procedure that allows the government to still receivethe sameamount of moneydespite changes in tax laws. The government may lower taxes for one particular group of people, but raise taxes for another group. This allows the revenue that they receive to remain unchanged (neutral).
e.g. My boss encouraged the President to replace our income tax policy with arevenue neutralnational sales tax that would encourage income and would tax consumption.
rebate: partial refund
→ Investment in supply beyond what the market required has producedglutsand pushed down prices.
glut: an excessive amount, as in the production of a crop, oftenleading to a fall in price
e.g. The steel industry is suffering froma global productionglutcaused by the slowdown in the Chinese economy.
→ In America this has been somewhat masked by theshale-gasrevolution, which has caused a bigger shift in the same direction.
Shale gasis natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations(页岩气)
→Wholesaleelectricity prices have slumped from around €80 a megawatt-hour in 2008 to €30-50 nowadays.
wholesale: the sale of goods in quantity, as to retailers or jobbers, for resale
outlet, bulk
slump: (of business activity, etc) todecline suddenly; collapse
→ The result has beenhavocfor the old-style utilities.
havoc: great destruction or devastation
e.g. The visitors have been disrupted by floods that wreaked havoc in the town.
→ Electricity markets, especially those that were deregulated in the late 20th century, typically work on a "merit order": at any given time they meet demand by taking electricity first from the cheapest supplier, then the next-cheapest, until they have all they need…
merit: claim to respect and praise; excellence; worth.
【Synonym】merit, desert, worth
refer to the quality in a person, action, or thing that entitles recognition, especiallyfavorablerecognition.
Meritis usuallythe excellencethat entitles to praise
e.g. a person of great merit
Desertis the quality that entitles one to ajust reward:
e.g. according to her deserts
Worthis always used in a favorable sense and signifiesinherent value or goodness
e.g. The worth of your contribution is incalculable.
→ But renewables areintermittent, which means that in systems where the infrastructure was designed before intermittency became an issue — almost all of them, in practice — fossil-fuel, hydroelectric and nuclear plants are needed more or less as much as ever at times when the sun doesn't shine and the winds don't blow.
intermittent: occurring occasionally or at regular or irregular intervals; periodic
e.g. Tidal electricity has another advantage over wind with its intermittent output.
这段话解释了新能源发电的不稳定性，阐述新旧能源目前必须并存却又“互相伤害”的局面。
→ Grid with lots of storage capacity built in; grids big enough to reach out to faraway renewables when the nearby ones are in thedoldrums…
doldrums: a state ofinactivityorstagnation, as in business or art
e.g. August is a time ofdoldrumsfor many enterprises.
→ When they are a small part of the system, renewables areinsulatedfrom the effects that their low marginal costs have on prices, because…
insulate: to place in an isolated situation or condition; segregate.
If a person or group is insulated from the rest of society or from outside influences, they are protected from them.
e.g. Many of them lived underground, letting the land itselfinsulatethem fromthe sun's killing heat.
→ Utilities which are required to have renewables in theirportfolios, such as those in California, used to offer companies investing in that capacity generous long-term contracts.
[专]portfolio: the total holdings of thesecurities,commercial paper, etc., of afinancial institutionorprivate investor.
e.g. Eighty-six percent of stocks in the "Sold in the USA"portfoliooffer juicy dividends, yielding on average 2.7 percent.
[专]contract: The unit of trade for a financial or commodityfuture
→ … as such utilities come closer to meeting theirmandates, solar-power developers are being offered shorter-term fixed prices with a higher subsequent exposure to variable wholesale prices.
mandate: an authoritative order or command
→ The subsidies have helped costs of wind and solar to fallprecipitouslyaround the world.
precipice:
① a cliff with a vertical, nearly vertical, or overhanging face
② a situation of great peril
e.g. If there is a tipping point, and we're close to it, we should probably be trying to back off theprecipice.
→ Recentauctionsforoffshorewind farms in the North Sea and solar developments in Mexico and Abu Dhabi have shown developersslashingprices to win fixed contracts to supply clean electricity for decades to come.
auction: Also called public sale. a publicly held sale at which property or goods are sold to thehighest bidder.
offshore&outsource
slash: to cut, reduce, or alter
e.g. Mr. Gates has said repeatedly that he will slash his budget by $100 billion.
→ Especially in sunny and windy developing countries with fast-growing demand, they offer a potentiallylucrative, subsidy-free investment opportunity.
lucrative: profitable; moneymaking; remunerative
CG: "Remmuneration committee"
e.g. Activating iPhones promised alucrative, steady revenue stream for Synchronoss.
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Day 9: Mindmap
pass
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Background Guide
△能否将新能源直接并入电网？并网面临的问题？
△为什么一定要维持新旧能源共存局面？√
"Big Four" accounting firms
→ PwC
→ DTT
→ EY
→ KPMG
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