Thirsty Clean Energy May Add to WaterStressed World

　　对清洁能源的需求可能会给水资源增加压力

　　As the world gets hotter and drier thanks to ourpredilection for burning fossil fuels. The choices wemake balancing power and water are alreadybecoming an urgent issue in the fight againstclimate change, says Amanda Fencl of the StockholmEnvironment Institute.

　　由于我们对燃烧化石燃料的偏爱，世界变得越来越炎热，越来越干燥。斯德哥尔摩环境研究所的阿曼达·芬斯尔说，我们保证水电平衡的这一选择在应对气候变化的角度上已经成为了一个紧迫的问题。

　　While cutting emissions is necessary to curb global warming, some renewable and cleanenergy sources use more water than fossil fuel-powered plants, finds a report released by theUS Department of Energy - DoE) that looked at how resilient the US's power infrastructure isto climate change.

　　美国能源部发布的一份报告指出，虽然削减温室气体排放是遏制全球变暖所必备的条件，但一些可再生能源和清洁能源比化石燃料发电厂需要更多的水资源。这份报告对美国电力基础设施是否能面临气候变化的考验进行了探讨。

　　The biggest users of water in the US are power plants, particularly the fossil fuel and nuclearplants that together generate almost 90 per cent of the nation's energy. Nearly half the waterthe US consumes is used to cool these plants and drive their turbines. But some renewable andclean energy sources also need a lot of water, says the DoE report. The main consumer ishydropower, which requires large reservoirs of water to generate electricity. Other technologiesuse it indirectly, to irrigate biofuel crops, for example, or cool and wash solar panels.

　　在美国，水资源使用大户是发电厂，尤其是化石燃料发电厂和核电厂为美国创造了90%的能源。美国所消耗的水资源中，有将近一半的水资源是用于冷却这些发电设备和驱动涡轮机的。但是，美国能源部的报告指出，一些可再生能源和清洁能源也需要大量的水资源。消耗的主力军是水力发电，这就需要储蓄大量的水来发电。其他的技术可以使用水资源来灌溉生物燃料作物，例如冷却和清洗太阳能电池板。

　　Currently renewable and clean energy technologies only make up a small proportion of theUS's energy mix-for example, hydroelectric provides 7 per cent of the county's power, andsolar less than 1 per cent-but if the US is going to meet its target of reducing carbon emissionsby 80 per cent by 2050, renewables and clean energy will need to feature more heavily infuture.

　　目前，可再生能源和清洁能源仅仅占据了美国能源结构的一小部分，例如，水力发电提供了7%的国家能源，而太阳能提供的能源不超过1%，但如果美国要满足到2050年，碳排放量减少80%的目标，可再生能源和清洁能源需要在未来发挥更大的作用。

编辑：张雨

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