现在全世界都在大力发展可再生能源，比如风能、太阳能等。但是它们受天气影响很大，发电量时大时小，难以有效利用。而虚拟发电厂就能很好地解决这个问题。
The virtual power plants
by Hanna Ziady
By supplying electricity from renewable sources even when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing, virtual power plant technology could help tackle the climate crisis.
supply /səˈplaɪ/ v./n. 供应
renewable /rɪˈnjuːəb(ə)l/ adj. 可再生的（由renew加后缀-able变成形容词）
source /sɔːs/ n. 来源
virtual /ˈvɜːtʃuəl/ adj. 虚拟的
plant /plɑːnt/ n. 工厂
tackle /ˈtæk(ə)l/ v. 应对
crisis /ˈkraɪsɪs/ n. 危机
Conventional power plants can account for fluctuations in demand and supply by, for example, burning more coal, said Phil Taylor, professor of energy systems at Newcastle University in England. But clean energy sources, such as wind farms and solar plants, are weather-dependent and therefore much more difficult to control, he said.
conventional /kənˈvenʃ(ə)n(ə)l/ adj. 常规的
account for 考虑到、把…考虑进来
fluctuation /ˌflʌktʃuˈeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 波动、起伏
coal /kəʊl/ n. 煤、煤炭
solar /ˈsəʊlə(r)/ adj. 太阳的、太阳能的
dependent /dɪˈpendənt/ adj. 依赖于…的
Virtual power plants attempt to solve that problem by connecting disparate（完全不同的） sources of renewable production, generation and storage. By pooling those resources, engineers can make them behave like a conventional power plant.
production /prəˈdʌkʃ(ə)n/ n. 生产、制造
generation /ˌdʒenəˈreɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 发电
storage /ˈstɔːrɪdʒ/ n. 储存
pool /puːl/ v. 集中共用
resource /ˈriːsɔːs/ n. 资源
For example, a virtual power plant might be connected to 10 geographically（地理上） dispersed（分散的） wind farms to smooth the variability（易变） in output of each one. It could also include an energy storage component, so that if production from the wind farms outstrips（超过） demand a fleet of batteries can be charged so they can supply more power later when required. "By controlling all these things in a coordinated way, virtual power plants can begin to look like conventional power plants," said Taylor.
smooth /smuːð/ v. 使平滑
output /ˈaʊtpʊt/ n. 输出、产出
component /kəmˈpəʊnənt/ n. 部件、组成部分
fleet /fliːt/ n. 舰队、车队（这里指数量多）
charge /tʃɑːdʒ/ v. 充电
coordinate /kəʊˈɔːdɪneɪt/ v. 协调
Norwegian company Statkraft has been running one of Europe's biggest power generation facilities in this way since 2011. The virtual power plant, in Germany, has capacity greater than 12,000 megawatts and could theoretically power 5 million homes. It uses a cloud-based artificial intelligence platform to connect more than 1,500 wind, solar and hydropower（水电） plants across Europe with electricity generation and storage facilities, such as batteries.
Norwegian /nɔːˈwiːdʒ(ə)n/ adj. 挪威的（挪威是北欧国家）
run /rʌn/ v. 运营
facility /fəˈsɪləti/ n. 设施
capacity /kəˈpæsəti/ n. 容量
megawatt /ˈmeɡəwɒt/ n. 兆瓦（=1000千瓦）
theoretically /θɪəˈretɪk(ə)li/ adv. 理论上（由theoretical加后缀-ly变成副词）
power /ˈpaʊə(r)/ v. 提供电力
cloud-based 基于云计算的
artificial /ˌɑːtɪˈfɪʃ(ə)l/ adj. 人工的、人造的
intelligence /ɪnˈtelɪdʒ(ə)ns/ n. 智力、智能
platform /ˈplætfɔːm/ n. 平台
Power generation forecasts and actual electricity production data are continuously fed into the virtual power plant from the connected plants. This is supplemented with market prices for energy, enabling Statkraft to match demand with supply in real time.
forecast /ˈfɔːkɑːst/ n. 预测
actual /ˈæktʃuəl/ adj. 实际的
data /ˈdeɪtə/ n. 数据
continuously /kənˈtɪnjuəsli/ adv. 持续不断地（由continuous加后缀-ly变成副词）
feed /fiːd/ v. 把…放进机器
supplement /ˈsʌplɪment/ v. 补充
enable /ɪˈneɪb(ə)l/ v. 使得、使能够
in real time 实时地、即时地
When there is excess electricity supply, production at plants can be throttled（使减速） or energy can be stored for use at a later date. This ensures smaller producers always have a market for their power and helps to avoid negative energy prices.
excess /ˈekses/ adj. 多余的
store /stɔː(r)/ v. 储存
ensure /ɪnˈʃʊə(r)/ v. 确保
producer /prəˈdjuːsə(r)/ n. 生产商（由produce加上表示人的后缀-er）
negative /ˈneɡətɪv/ adj. 负的
Having the right balance of components connected to the virtual power plant is important, said Taylor. "If you have too much wind power and not enough storage, the virtual power plant is not going to be controllable enough."
balance /ˈbæl(ə)ns/ n. 平衡
controllable /kənˈtrəʊləb(ə)l/ adj. 可控制的（由control加后缀-able变成形容词）
Virtual power plants could over time make a considerable contribution in the transition to a low carbon future, but they are not without weaknesses, Taylor said. For example, the number of entities involved in a virtual power plant introduces complexity in that separate commercial agreements are needed for each one. They also rely heavily on software systems for data collection and communication, making them vulnerable to cyber attacks.
over time 随着时间的推移
considerable /kənˈsɪd(ə)rəb(ə)l/ adj. 相当大的、相当多的
contribution /ˌkɒntrɪˈbjuːʃ(ə)n/ n. 贡献
transition /trænˈzɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 转变、过渡
carbon /ˈkɑːb(ə)n/ n. 碳
weakness /ˈwiːknəs/ n. 弱点（由weak加后缀-ness变成名词）
entity /ˈentɪti/ n. 实体
introduce /ˌɪntrəˈdjuːs/ v. 引入
complexity /kəmˈpleksəti/ n. 复杂性（由complex加后缀-ity变成名词）
separate /ˈsep(ə)rət/ adj. 单独的、分开的
commercial /kəˈmɜːʃ(ə)l/ adj. 商业的
agreement /əˈɡriːmənt/ n. 协议（由agree加后缀-ment变成名词）
rely on 依靠
communication /kəˌmjuːnɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 通讯
vulnerable /ˈvʌln(ə)rəb(ə)l/ adj. 易受伤害的
cyber /ˈsaɪbə(r)/ adj. 网络空间的
（如果您发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，请把您使用的浏览器升级到最新版本就能正常显示了。）
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