Regeneration of old industrial areas and refurbishment of historic buildings can improve the attractiveness' of an area and create new employment opportunities. Such activities can also provide the opportunity to install innovative renewable energy technologies and measures to make rational use of energy. Use of these systems can result in a reduction in energy consumption and emissions of C02, and in enhanced environ-s mental protection.
In this project at Lavrio, a small-scale gas-fired Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant has been installed to produce electricity and heat for a refurbished building, which is part of a new technology park. Space heating is by means of recirculation of air through ducts2 in the walls and roof, j
Cooling is achieved by use of absorption chillers3 using heat recovered from the CHP unit. Lighting is obtained by a combination of natural and artificial lighting, and innovative, transparent, insulation materials are used in the roof and windows to allow natural lighting without compromising energy efficiency. The control of all of the new components is by means of an integrated building management system and any surplus of power or energy will be used by other installations and buildings in the technology park.
Successful demonstration of the innovative technologies used in this project to capitalize on the expertise gained and multiply the positive impacts on energy conservation, employment and environmental protection.
1 - привлекательность; 2 - трубы; З - охладители
IT IS INTERESTING TO KNOW • Read and try to memorize.
| 1- |
Today most countries have a standard currency with a basic monetary unit. The chart below shows the basic monetary units for several countries and gives the origin of the name of the unit.
| Country | Basic Monetary Unit | Origin of Name |
| France Italy Costa Rica Poland India | franc lira colon zloty rupee | Franc comes from the Latin words Francorum rex ("King of the Franks") which used to be engraved' on French coins. Lira comes from the Latin libra, meaning "balance or measure". The colon was named in honour of Christopher Columbus, Cristobal Colon in Spanish. Zloty comes from the Polish word zlyoto, meaning "gold". Rupee comes from the Sanskrit word rupya, meaning "wrought2silver". |
гравировать; 2 — украшенное
Section I. Power Engineering!
JUST FOR FUN
• Read and smile. Tell your friend.
Flights of Fancy
NASA was interviewing professionals to be sent to Mars. Only one could go, and he or she couldn't return to the Earth. The first applicant ', an engineer, was asked how much he wanted to be paid for going. "One million dollars," he answered, "because I want to donate it toM. I.T."
The next applicant, a doctor, was asked the same question. She asked for two million dollars. "I want to give a million to my family," she explained, "and leave the other million for the advancement of medical research."
The last applicant was a lawyer2. When asked how much money he wanted, he whispered in the interviewer's ear, "Three million dollars."
"Why so much more than the others?", the interviewer asked.! The lawyer whispered, "If NASA pays me $3 million, I'll give you $1 million, I'll keep $1 million, and we'll send the engineer."
1 - претендент; 2 — юрист
Unit 4
HYDROPOWER. FACTS
PARTI
• Read and translate the following text below. Pay attention to the details of Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.
Facts About Hydropower
Worldwide, about 20% of all electricity is generated by hydropower. Hydroelectric power plants convert the kinetic energy contained in falling water into electricity. The energy in flowing water is ultimately derived from the sun, and is therefore constantly being renewed. Energy contained in sunlight evaporates water from the oceans and deposits it on land in the form of rain. Differences in land elevation result in rainfall runoff, and allow some of the original solar energy to be captured as hydroelectric power.
Hydropower is currently the world's largest renewable source of electricity, accounting for 6% of worldwide energy supply or about 15% of the world's electricity. In Canada, hydroelectric power is abundant and
| Solar, Wind & Biomass 0.1% |
| Coal 55.1% |
Nuclear
22.5%
Petroleum
2.0%
Hydroelectric
9.8% Natural Gas Geothermal
10.3% 0.2%
Fig. L
U.S. Electric Utility Net Generation of Electricity
Section I. Power Engineering jjnit 4. Hydropower. Facts
supplies 60% of our electrical needs. Traditionally thought of as a cheap] and clean source of electricity, most large hydroelectric schemes being
EXERCISES
I. Find the Russian equivalents in b) to the following English words and word combinations in a).
Fig. 2.
Top Hydroelectric Generating Countries
planned today are coming up against a great deal of opposition fromj environmental groups and native people.
The United States is the second largest producer of hydropower iri
the world. Canada is number one. Norway produces more than 99% on
its electricity with hydropower. New Zealand uses hydropower for 75%
of its electricity. I
In the U.S., hydropower produces enough electricity to serve the need» of 28 million residential customers. This is equal to all the homes in Wis-J consin, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, Nebras-I ka, Kansas, North and South Dakota, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
VOCABULARY
| to evaporate испарять runoff объем to deposit осаждаться to derive from получать, извлекать |
to account for отчитываться, насчитывав abundant имеющийся в изобилии a great deal of большое количество native people коренные жители
| a) |
b)
| 1) falling water | i; | » большое количество |
| 2) ultimately | 2) | потребности в электроэнергии |
| 3) differences | 3] | падающая вода |
| 4) land elevation | 4) | объем осадков |
| 5) rainfall runoff | 5] | полностью |
| 6) energy supply | 6^ | имеющийся в изобилии |
| 7) abundant | 7) | различия |
| 8) electrical needs | 8) | поднятие земли |
| 9) a great deal of | 9) | энергоресурсы |
| 10) residential customers | io; | бытовые потребители |
2. Answer the questions using the information from the text.
a) How much electricity is produced by hydropower?
b) Why is the energy in flowing water being constantly renewed?
c) What can you say about hydropower in Canada?
d) What country produces more than 99% of its electricity with hydropower?
e) What is the second largest producer of hydropower in the world?
PART 2
• Read the text below and point out the advantages of hydropower.
Environment
Hydropower is clean. It prevents the burning of 22 billion gallons of °il or 120 million tons of coal each year. Hydropower does not produce greenhouse gases or other air pollution. Hydropower leaves behind no waste. Reservoirs formed by hydropower projects in Wisconsin have expanded water-based recreation' resources, and they suppon diverse, healthy, and productive fisheries. In fact, catch rates are substantially higher on hydropower reservoirs than natural lakes.
Section I. Power Engineering
Unit
4. Hydropower. Facts
| I |
И Fuel
И Maintenance I Operation
E U
| Nuclear |
| Hydroelectric |
| Gas Turbine |
Fossil Fueled Steam
Fig.3.
Average Power Production Expense per kWh
Cost
Hydropower is the most efficient way to generate electricity. Mod-J ern hydroturbines can convert as much as 90% of the available energy into electricity. The best fossil fuel plants are only about 50% efficient! In the U. S., hydropower is produced for an average of 0.7 cents pel kilowatt-hour (kWh). This is about one-third the cost of using fossil fuel or nuclear and one-sixth the cost of using natural gas. Hydropowj er does not experience2 rising or unstable fuel costs.
Renewable
Hydropower is the leading source of renewable energy It providej more than 97% of all electricity generated by renewable sources. Oth er sources including solar, geothermal, wind, and biomass account to: less than 3% of renewable electricity production.
Recreation
Reservoirs formed by hydroelectric dams provide many water-basecj recreational opportunities including fishing, water sports, boating and water fowl3hunting. Hydro-operators own a significant amouni of land around many reservoirs that is open to the public for usej including hiking,4 hunting, snowmobiling, and skiing. Hydro-oper-. ators provide many recreation facilities at their hydropower project^ including boat landings, swimming beaches, restrooms, picnic ar
Las, fishing piers, hiking and nature trails,5 canoe portages, and parking facilities.
- отдых; 2 — испытывает; 3 — дичь; 4 — туризм; 5 — дорога через сельскую местность
Say whether you agree or not with the following statements. In case you don't agree say why. Use the following phrases and word combinations:
| I believe the thing is |
| in my opinion to my mind the fact is |
to start with
I think
as far as I know
a) Reservoirs formed by hydropower projects support diverse, healthy, and productive fisheries.
b) Hydropower is the most efficient way to generate electricity.
c) Hydropower is the leading source of renewable energy.
Read the text again and give the summary of it.
IT IS INTERESTING TO KNOW
* Read the text and complete the table below.
Much of the fuel produced in Russia is converted to electricity, about three-fourths of which is generated in thermal stations; some two-thirds of thermal generation is from oil and gas. The remaining power output is produced by hydroelectric and nuclear plants. Most of the hydroelectricity comes from huge stations on the Volga, Kama, Ob, Yenisey, Angara, and Zeya rivers. Nuclear power production expanded rapidly before development was checked by the Chernobyl accident. Much of Siberia's electricity output is transmitted to the European region along high-voltage lines.
| In thermal stations | By hydroelectric and nuclear plants | |
| electricity is generated in Russia | ||
| s°me two-thirds of thermal generation is from |
Unit 5
Unit 5. Hydropower. Impacts
HYDROPOWER. IMPACTS
PARTI
• Read the following text. Pay attention to the advantages and disadvantages of hy dropower.
Environmental Impacts
Hydroelectric power plants have many environmental impacts, somj of which are just beginning to be understood. These impacts, howeveJ must be weighed against the environmental impacts of alternatiJ sources of electricity. Until recently there was an almost universal be lief that hydropower was a clean and environmentally safe method d producing electricity. Hydroelectric power plants do not emit any d the standard atmospheric pollutants such as carbon dioxide or sulni dioxide given off by fossil fuel fired power plants. In this respect, hyl dropower is better than burning coal, oil or natural gas to produce elec tricity, as it does not contribute to global warming or acid rain. Similar ly, hydroelectric power plants do not result in the risks of radioactii contamination associated with nuclear power plants.
[ https://www.iclei.org/efacts/globwarm.htm ]
[ https://www.iclei.org/efacts/acidrain.htm ]
[ https://www.iclei.org/efacts/fission.htm ].
A few recent studies of large reservoirs created behind hydro damj have suggested that decaying vegetation, submerged by flooding, maJ give off quantities of greenhouse gases equivalent to those from othej sources of electricity. If this turns out to be true, hydroelectric facilitiel such as the^ames Bay project in Quebec that flood large areas of land might be significant contributors to global warming. Run of the rivej hydro plants without dams and reservoirs would not be a source of thesl greenhouse gases. The most obvious impact of hydroelectric dams il
the flooding of vast areas of land, much of it previously forested or used for agriculture. The size of reservoirs created can be extremely large. The La Grande project in the James Bay region of Quebec has already submerged over 10,000 square kilometers of land; and if future plans are carried out, the eventual area of flooding in northern Quebec will be larger than the country of Switzerland. Reservoirs can be used for ensuring adequate water supplies, providing irrigation, and recreation; but in several cases they have flooded the homelands of native peoples, whose way of life has then been destroyed. Many rare ecosystems are also threatened by hydroelectric development.
Fig. 4.
Rocky Reach Hydroelectric Project
Large dams and reservoirs can have other impacts on a watershed. Damming a river can alter the amount and quality of water in the river downstream of the dam, as well as preventing fish from migrating upstream to spawn. These impacts can be reduced by requiring minimum flows downstream of a dam, and by creating fish ladders which allow fish to move upstream past the dam. Silt, normally carried downstream to the lower reaches of a river, is trapped by a dam and deposited on me bed of the reservoir. This silt can slowly fill up a reservoir, decreasing ne arnount of water which can be stored and used for electrical genera-ton. The river downstream of the dam is also deprived of silt which fer-
zes tne river's flood-plain during high water periods.
3-4661
Section I. Power
Unit 5. Hydropower. Impacts 35
Bacteria present in decaying vegetation can also change mercury, present in rocks underlying a reservoir, into a form which is soluble in water. The mercury accumulates in the bodies offish and poses a health hazard to those who depend on these fish for food. The water quality of many reservoirs also poses a health hazard due to new forms of bacteria which grow in many of the hydro rivers. Therefore, run of the river type hydroplants generally have a smaller impact on the environment.