Vocabulary

Supply – постачання; постачати

consumer – споживач

power generating company – компанія-виробник електроенергії

thermal power station – теплоелектростанція

nuclear power station – ядерна електростанція

hydro-power station – гідроелектростанція

pumped-storage power station – гідроакумулююча електростанція

trunk – магістраль

network – мережа

grid – сітка, мережа

distribution network – розподільна мережа

refurbishment – відновлення

maintain – підтримувати

capacitor – конденсатор

Assignments

1. Read and translate text 5 using the vocabulary.

2. Compose seven key questions to the text.

3. Speak on “The Ukrainian Integrated Power System Operation”.

Text 6. Increased Efficiency in Current Energy Use

New technology may make better use of already available energy through improved ef­ficiency, such as more efficient fluorescent lamps, engines, and insulation. Using heat ex­changers, it is possible to recover some of the energy in waste warm water and air, for exam­ple to preheat incoming fresh water. Hydrocarbon fuel production from pyrolysis could also be in this category, allowing recovery of some of the energy in hydrocarbon waste. Meat pro­duction is energy-inefficient compared to the production of protein sources like soybean or quorn. Already existing power plants often can and usually are made more efficient with mi­nor modifications due to new technology. New power plants may become more efficient with technology like cogeneration. New designs for buildings may incorporate techniques like pas­sive solar. Light-emitting diodes are gradually replacing the remaining uses of light bulbs. Note that none of these methods allows perpetual motion, as some energy is always lost to heat.

Mass transportation increases energy efficiency compared to widespread conventional automobile use while air travel is regarded as inefficient. Conventional combustion engine automobiles have continually improved their efficiency and may continue to do so in the fu­ture, for example by reducing weight with new materials. Electric vehicles are more efficient during use than similar current combustion based vehicles, reducing their energy consumption during use by 1/2 to 1/4. Microcars may replace automobiles carrying only one or two people.

Electric vehicles and electric boats using batteries or non-hydrogen fuel cells are other alternatives. Electricity may be the only power source or combined with other fuels in hybrid vehicles. Nuclear power has been used in large ships. High technology sails could provide some of the power for ships. Several companies are proposing vehicles using compressed air as fuel. Airships require less onboard fuel than a traditional aircraft and combining airship tech­nology with glider technology may eliminate onboard fuel completely. Personal rapid transit and some mass transportation systems, like trolleybus, metro or magnetic levitation trains, can use electricity directly from the grid and do not need a liquid fuel or battery.

There are also alternatives for transportation fuel. Various chemical processes can con­vert the carbon and hydrogen in coal, natural gas, plant and animal biomass, and organic wastes into short hydrocarbons suitable as transportation fuels. Examples of such fuels are Fischer-Tropsch diesel, methanol, dimethyl ether, or syngas. Such diesel was used extensively in World War II by the Germans, who had limited access to crude oil supplies. Today South Africa produces most of country's diesel from coal. A long term oil price above 35 USD may make such liquid fuels economical on a large scale. Some of the energy in the original source will be lost in the conversion process. Compressed natural gas can itself be used as a transpor­tation fuel. Also coal itself can be used as transportation fuel. Historically coal has been used directly for transportation purposes in vehicles and boats using steam engines.

Electricity distribution may change in the future. New small-scale energy sources may be placed closer to the consumers so that less energy is lost during electricity distribution. New technology like superconductivity or improved power factor correction may also de­crease the energy loss. Distributed generation permits electricity "consumers", who are gener­ating electricity for their own needs, to send their surplus electrical power back into the power grid.