Fri, Mar 17, 2006 page21

• Clean power comes to Shanghai 綠色電能到上海

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  For the first time, Shanghai residents can buy "clean power." Solar power and wind power are now part of the electricity that flows through Shangai. The company in charge of the project, Shanghai Municipal Electricity Power company, said the power was available starting March 7.

  The project is directed at cleaning up Shanghai's polluted environment, company spokesman Yu Qinde said.

  Yu said the plan had so far gotten some support from the public, with 460 households signing up for the clean power.

  

  A Shanghai resident shows solar panels onthe roof of his building that create heat and electricity for his home. 上海一位民眾在寓所的大樓屋頂上展示能夠製造熱能與電力的太陽能電池板。 (照片：法新社)

  PHOTO: AFP

  It has proved less popular among companies, which have had access to the clean power since January. Only 15 companies bought the new clean power.

  One of the reasons that so few people have signed up to pay for clean power is the price. One unit of clean power (one kilowatt hour) costs 1.14 yuan (NT$4.6). That's 0.53 yuan (NT$2.14) higher than electricity that is created through more traditional methods, like burning coal.

  In order to buy the new clean electricity, individual households and companies also have to agree to buy at least a certain amount of electricity a year.

  Although the project is still new, Yu said the state-run company remained hopeful.

  Shanghai, home to 17 million residents and 3,000 skyscrapers, needs 70 billion units of electricity annually, but currently only receives about 2000-3000 units from non-polluting methods.

  Although Yu admits that clean power is today a very small part of the city's total electricity, he says that by the end of 2015, Shanghai will be able to get 3 billion units of power just from wind power. (AFP)

  有史以來，上海居民首度可以購得「綠色電能」。目前上海有部分電力是由太陽能與風能供應。主導這項計劃的上海市電力公司表示，他們已從三月七日開始供應這種電能。

  電力公司的發言人餘勤德表示，這項計畫的目標為清理上海遭汙染的環境。

  餘勤德表示，這項計畫目前已受到部分民眾的支持，已有四百六十戶人家簽署購買綠電。

  各公司行號自一月開始已可利用綠電，但綠電顯然較不受到企業界歡迎。目前只有十五家企業購買新式的綠電。

  民眾購買綠電並不踴躍的其中一項因素是價錢。一度（一千瓦／小時）的綠電要價人民幣一點一四元（新台幣四點六元），比燃煤等傳統電能還要貴上人民幣○點五三元（新台幣二點一四元）。

  為了購買新的綠電，每戶人家與企業也必須同意每年至少要購買一定的電量。

  雖然這項計畫仍然很新，餘勤德認為國營的上海電力公司仍然懷抱希望。

  上海有一千七百萬人口，三千座摩天大樓，一年需要七百億度的電能。不過上海目前利用非汙染方式只能取得兩千到三千度的電能。

  雖然餘勤德坦承目前綠電只是全上海市的一小部分電能，但到二○一五年年底，上海市光憑風力就可以取得三十億度的電能。 （法新社）

  For your information

  Today's words 今日單字

  1. resident n. 居民 (ju1 min2)，住戶 (zhu4 hu4) 例： The residents of that building all pay a fee to have it cleaned. （那棟大樓的住戶都要負擔大樓的清潔費用。 ） 2. solar adj. 太陽的 (tai4 yang2 de5) 例：The sun is the center of our solar system. （太陽是我們太陽系的中心。） 3. method n. 方法 (fang1 fa3) 例：That school doesn't believe in traditional teaching methods. There are no tests or grades. （那所學校不相信傳統式的教法，那裡沒有考試也沒有成績評比。） 4. household n. 一家人 (yi4 jia1 ren2) 例：My father always says my mother really controls the household. （我父親總是說控制全家人的其實是母親。）

  For your information

  Reading Comprehension
  閱讀測驗

  1. Shanghai residents ... a. have always been able to buy solar power. b. prefer using wind and solar power. c. mostly use power that comes from traditional methods. 2. Why is clean power being brought to Shanghai? a. To make electricity cheaper. b. Because residents asked for it. c. To try to clean up the environment. 3. What's one reason more people don't buy clean power? a. Power made by burning coal works better. b. It costs more than regular electricity. c. Shanghai residents are very traditional people. 4. Wind and solar power ... a. are new to Shanghai. b. will create more power than traditional methods by 2015. c. are unwelcome in Shanghai.
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