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26
hot water, without fossil fuels. They could also replace the internal
combustion engines that now power most motor vehicles.
The use of wind and solar power is growing much faster than the markets
for oil and coal. Old-line companies will find that the new energy technologies
demand a new business model. While the current system is based on such
massive, centralized installations as giant oil tankers, refiners and power plants,
the new technologies rely on thousands of small machines that convert, store
and use energy. Their cost will fall dramatically as the scale of manufacturing
rises.
The emergence of these devices may cause the energy industry to undergo
a transformation not all that different from the one computers went through as
we moved from mainframes to PCs in the last decade. Micropower, like
microcomputers, will rely on sophisticated electronic controls that link
thousands of small generators and storage devices. With such controls, each
solar rooftop, fuel cell and air-conditioner can be connected via digital signals,
so that the entire power grid operates as a single smart system, turning
individual devices on and off as needed.
Although some people argue that it will be difficult and expensive to find
an alternative to oil and coal – and that we should delay the transition for as long
as possible - their conclusions are based on a technological pessimism that
seems out of place in today’s world. The first automobiles and computers were
difficult to use and expensive. Just as automobiles followed horses, and
computers replaced typewriters and slide rules, so will the advance of
technology make today’s energy systems look primitive, inefficient and
uneconomical.
An energy revolution would offer huge business opportunities as the
micropower revolution relies heavily on electronic innovations and may create
sizable fortunes of its own.
(Time, November 1997. By Christopher Flavin).
1) Activate the following words and expressions in your own sentences: to
pollute, to become commercial reality, to turn into, renewable sources, to
prevail, to become obsolete, efficient, to enable, to allow, to proceed, solar
cells, urban buildings, rural homes, dwellings, electric grid, economically
attractive option, major company, roof tile, rooftop, to generate electricity,
to meet power needs, to integrate, to set up, to install, tough fiberglass blade,
device, waste, mass-produced, internal combustion engine, motor vehicles,
demand, to rely on, to convert into, emergence, to undergo a transformation,,
to store, storage device, to turn on/off, to argue, out of place.
2) Answer the questions:
1. Can we see any trace of an energy revolution in the 21 century?
2. In which areas is the shift to renewable sources of energy most felt?
3. Do you think the price of alternative power sources economically attractive?
4. Is Europe the only region where the energy revolution is proceeding?
26
hot water, without fossil fuels. They could also replace the internal
combustion engines that now power most motor vehicles.
The use of wind and solar power is growing much faster than the markets
for oil and coal. Old-line companies will find that the new energy technologies
demand a new business model. While the current system is based on such
massive, centralized installations as giant oil tankers, refiners and power plants,
the new technologies rely on thousands of small machines that convert, store
and use energy. Their cost will fall dramatically as the scale of manufacturing
rises.
The emergence of these devices may cause the energy industry to undergo
a transformation not all that different from the one computers went through as
we moved from mainframes to PCs in the last decade. Micropower, like
microcomputers, will rely on sophisticated electronic controls that link
thousands of small generators and storage devices. With such controls, each
solar rooftop, fuel cell and air-conditioner can be connected via digital signals,
so that the entire power grid operates as a single smart system, turning
individual devices on and off as needed.
Although some people argue that it will be difficult and expensive to find
an alternative to oil and coal – and that we should delay the transition for as long
as possible - their conclusions are based on a technological pessimism that
seems out of place in today’s world. The first automobiles and computers were
difficult to use and expensive. Just as automobiles followed horses, and
computers replaced typewriters and slide rules, so will the advance of
technology make today’s energy systems look primitive, inefficient and
uneconomical.
An energy revolution would offer huge business opportunities as the
micropower revolution relies heavily on electronic innovations and may create
sizable fortunes of its own.
(Time, November 1997. By Christopher Flavin).
1) Activate the following words and expressions in your own sentences: to
pollute, to become commercial reality, to turn into, renewable sources, to
prevail, to become obsolete, efficient, to enable, to allow, to proceed, solar
cells, urban buildings, rural homes, dwellings, electric grid, economically
attractive option, major company, roof tile, rooftop, to generate electricity,
to meet power needs, to integrate, to set up, to install, tough fiberglass blade,
device, waste, mass-produced, internal combustion engine, motor vehicles,
demand, to rely on, to convert into, emergence, to undergo a transformation,,
to store, storage device, to turn on/off, to argue, out of place.
2) Answer the questions:
1. Can we see any trace of an energy revolution in the 21 century?
2. In which areas is the shift to renewable sources of energy most felt?
3. Do you think the price of alternative power sources economically attractive?
4. Is Europe the only region where the energy revolution is proceeding?
