Renewable Energy
Day1:
可再生能源的表达：the renewables, the greens, renewable energy
From his office window, Philipp Schroder points out over the Bavarian countryside and issues a Bond villain's laugh: "In front of you, you can see the death of the conventional utility, all financed by Mr and Mrs Schmidt."
1 issue: to officially make a statement, give an order, warning etc; if something issues forth, it comes out of a place or thing e.g. A low grunt issued forth from his throat.他喉咙里发出一阵低沉的咕哝声。
2 villain: a bad person or criminal e.g. Sometimes I wonder if a geniusvillainis out there counterfeiting U.S. dollars by the trillions.
The south-facing roofs of the houses, barns and cowsheds are blanketed with blue photovoltaic （PV） solar panels.
3 cowsheds: a building where cows are kept 牛棚，牛舍
4 photovoltaic: ADJ Aphotovoltaiccell or panel is a device that uses sunlight to cause a chemical reaction which produces electricity. 光伏的 e.g. Less than 1% of the installed solarphotovoltaiccapacity in the world is based on Cigs.
5 blanket: V-T If something such as snow bankets an area, it covers it. 覆盖 e.g. More than a foot of snow blanketed parts of Michigan.
The cows on the green fields produce manure that generates biogas which warms the Biergarten, the sports hall and many of the houses where the 2,600 villages live, as well as backing up the wind and solar generators in winter.
6 manure: N-MASS Manure is animal faeces, sometimes mixed with chemicals, that is spread on the ground in order to make plants grow healthy and strong. 肥料 e.g. The company captures the biogas from cow manure and converts it into usable energy.
7 biogas: N a gas that is produced by the action of bacteria on organic waste matter: used as a fuel 沼气 e.g. The company captures the biogas from cow manure and converts it into usable energy.
8 anathema: N-UNCOUNT If something is anathema to you, you strongly dislike it. e.g. Violence was anathema to them.
Few greens would mourn them.
9 mourn: to feel very sad and to miss someone after they have died e.g. Hundreds of people gathered to mourn the slain president.
But Wildpoldsried is still very much the exception, not the rule.
10 rule: something that is normal or usually true e.g. Early marriage used tobe the rulein that part of the world.
the rule <> exception
This suggests that their growth might soon need a lot less subsidy than it has attracted to date.
11 to date: 到此为止，迄今为止直到现在，到今天；至此 e.g. Correspondents say this is the International Atomic Energy Agency's toughest report on Iran to date.
The EU's emissions-trading scheme is a perennial disappointment: still, hope springs eternal, as witness a recent attempt to persuade the new American administration of the benefits of a revenue-neutral economy-wide carbon tax devoted to providing $2,000 to every family of four in rebates.
12 perennial: continuing or existing for a long time, or happening again and again e.g. Lack of resources has been aperennial problemsince the beginning.
相似：constant
13 eternal:adj/adv continuing for ever and having no end e.g. And we have the eternal paradox where women, historically reputed to crave stability, love change.
hope springs eternal: spring 用的很好，充满生机，源源不断
But pushing renewables into the electricity market has had effects on more than thier price; it has hit investment, too.
hit 和effect on在这里是一样的意思，但是hit程度感觉更严重一些
Investment in supply beyond what the market required has produced gluts and pushed down prices.
14 gluts: a supply of something, especially a product or crop, that is more than is needed 供应过剩 e.g. There is still a glut of houses for sale, which is pushing prices down.
Electricity markets, especially those that were deregulated in the late 20th century, typically work on a "merit order": at any given time they meet demand by taking electricity first from the cheapest supplier, then the next-cheapest, until they have all they need;
15 deregulated: [T usually passive,一般用被动态]to remove government rules and controls from some types of business activity撤销政府对…的管制 e.g. In brokerage, Japan will fully deregulate equity commissions by the end of next year.
If renewables worked constantly that would not, at first blush, look like a problem for anyone except people generating expensive electricity.
16 blush: something so shocking that it would shock someone who is not normally easily shocked e.g. In fact, the layers of hypocrisy underlying its conduct would make even Machiavelli blush.
17 doldrums: if an industry, company, activity etc is in the doldrums, it is not doing well or developing 萧条，停滞 e.g. Recent economic doldrums have damaged the rural west.
The world is caught in a vicious circle: ......
18 陷入恶性循环，用的是caught in
Phil Blythe of GreenSync warns that his country faces an incipient “utility death spiral”.
19 incipient: starting to happen or exist e.g. a sign of incipient madness
The "levellised cost of electricity" for renewables -- the all-in cost of building and operating a plant over its lifetime -- is increasingly competitive with fossil fules in many places.
20 levellised cost: 平准化成本（levelized cost） e.g. The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from solar plants in the U.S. dropped by 28% in the past year.
平准化成本：电厂总费用的最小现值除以发电量的现值就可以得到以单位电能（KW·h，MW·h等）成本表示的平准化贴现发电成本。
21 friends round 朋友圈
22 liken：to say that someone or something is similar to another person or thing 将…比作 e.g.Critics have likened the new theater to a supermarket.
23 fitful: not regular, and starting and stopping often 断断续续的，间歇的 e.g. John awoke from afitful sleep.
24 lay waste: 糟踏，毁坏；使成废墟；使荒废 e.g. Brain diseases lay waste to their victims in many different ways, most of them fatal.
Day2:
Day3:
这篇文章读了三遍，还是有点晕晕的。第一遍后对文章的理解，大概就是摸到了一份礼物的盒子的形状。第二遍是把包装拆了，发现礼物还被缠了一层塑料膜。第三遍，就是在跟塑料膜作斗争。写逻辑导图的时候好想把所有的框都连上箭头。。。
对文章的理解：首先文章抛出疑问“可再生能能源为什么没能大规模推广发展”？能记住的原因有：人们用电可以自给自足，并且运行成本极低，拉低了电力的批发价，逼疯了传统供电厂，他们只能抬升零售电价（卖给还在电网中的用户）来维持利润。但另一方面风能和太阳能不会产生持续稳定的电流，因为天气会变化，可能不刮风，也可能不出太阳。传统供电厂在此时尤为珍贵，因为它们可以保证供电。（电厂突然看到了一线生机）这种以防万一的方案难以维持，成本高，电费贵，只能依靠政府的补贴来维持运营和稳定电价。而且电网等设施投入也无法从用户处得到回报，传统模式的电厂和此类投资者在死亡的漩涡中挣扎前行。
从可再生能源发电自身来看，它的边际成本低，运营成本低。但是市场上的能源需求已经供大于求，新旧能源发电方式的替换无法靠市场规律驱动，只能靠政府补贴拉动。（政府好忙，两边都要给钱）最终，若是可再生能源市场占有率达到100%，电价将趋近于零，无利润可言。没有了利润大饼，也就没有私人资金投资可再生能源的发展了。（电厂的地位暂时稳住了）
但是，长远看来，这种旧式的发电厂终究是要淘汰的。（出于环境因素和技术更新）理想状态下，人们可以通过智能电网，自动匹配多余的发电量和短缺的电力需求。另一个方案是建设足够大容量的储电设施。还有其他方案：众筹安装费用，区块链合同，国内能源自治。
文章说人们不选择和投资可再生能源，是因为没必要（没需求），没利润回报（没资金投入），成本高（政府有所补贴）。旧式电厂没有前途（电价和利润终究会降到很低的水平），但又需要保留（间歇性使用），需要依靠政府补贴。要想到达可再生能源创造的美丽世界，就要拉人去投资。解决利润分配，让这种技术看起来有利可图，人们就会去投资。一是依靠技术革新，让安装太阳能更加经济，用户就会自己选择新能源。首先安装公司会有利润，包括维护优化系统。智能调节电力供需的系统也会出现利润。政府若是征碳税，就会进一步提高电价，税收再以补贴的形式发还给用户，就会加快电厂的消失，打破僵局。二是改变电力市场的交易机制，修改利润分配方式。
这篇经济学人的框架是丢出问题，分析问题，最后给出解决方案，虽然结构清晰，但是写逻辑图的时候还是很纠结。分析问题给出了很多原因和关系，来来回回，有点晕。需要好好研究一下这些方面是怎么串联起来的。
