VOA标准英语2013--肯尼亚地热开发

Kenya's Geothermal Industry Grows 肯尼亚地热开发

NAIROBI — With Kenya's proximity 1 to the Great Rift 2, once a hotbed of volcanic 3 activity, the country is the biggest producer of geothermal energy on the continent. Currently 13 percent of the national grid 4 is powered by this renewable energy, but untapped geothermal fields have the potential to cover all of Kenya's power needs, and then some. 

在肯尼亚接近大裂谷的地方，曾经是火山活动的温床，这使得肯尼亚成为非洲大陆最大的地热能源生产国。百分之十三的国家电网的电力由这种可再生的地热资源提供，虽然如此，待开发的地热资源的潜力完全可以提满足肯尼亚的全部用电需求。而且远不止于此。

Near the Kenyan town of Naivasha, Isaac Kirimi treks 6 up a steaming hillside. Kirimi is a drilling superintendent 7 with KenGen, Kenya’s leading power company.

在肯尼亚小镇Navasha附近，Isaac Kirimi正在蒸气弥漫的山坡上跋涉，他是肯尼亚能源巨头KenGen公司的钻探项目总监。

“This is like a live volcano! You can easily convince someone you’re in hell,” he said.The rocks underfoot are still soft. He looks for a small bushy plant known as geothermal grass, which thrives in high ground temperatures.

他说，“这象个活火山，你很容易让人相信，你来到了地狱”。脚下的岩石仍然很软，他正看着一种叫地热草的小藻木类植物，“这种草能够在地面很高的温度下茁壮的成长”。

“It is normally used by scientists to give them an indication of where there is potential for geothermal resources,” said Kirimi. "A scientist is like a wild person. You are imagining things and now trying to transfer that imagination. And try to convince someone to invest in that is not very easy."

“科学家通常会把这种草视为当地蕴含有丰富地热资源的标识”，Kirimi 说道：“科学家就象个野人，他正在想象事情，然后正试图调动这种想象，试图去说服人们来投资一件不容易的事情”。

Investing in renewable energy

投资再生能源

Today, more than 30 years after KenGen built its first geothermal plant in the area, investment in renewable energy is booming. KenGen, with government support, is ramping 8 up geothermal production.

自从KenGen公司在该地区建厂三十年多来，今天对再生能源投资正在激增，在国家的支持下，KenGen公司地热产量不断增加。

"The cost of drilling can be prohibitive:  the drilling costs, the power plant costs, and interconnecting all of these wells. Once you do that, you have nothing else to do for the next 25 years…except build another one. But we know the source is the center of the earth, so there will always be energy," said Geoffrey Muchemi, a development manager at KenGen.

“钻探的成本可以得到抑制：钻井成本，地热工厂成本，以及连接所有地热井的成本，一次性投入，在接下来25年你不需再做什么，除非你再去建另一个。我们知道地热资源是地球的中心，所以是源源不断的”。KenGen公司开发部经理Geoffery Muchemi这样说。

For now, a majority of Kenya’s energy needs are met by hydroelectric power.  But hydropower is diminished during rain shortages, leading to Kenya’s regular blackouts.

To harness geothermal energy, wells are first dug more than two kilometers into the earth’s surface.

现在肯尼亚的电力供给主要靠水力发电，但水力发电受限于估水期，这使得肯尼亚经常实行用电限制。为了获得地热，首先地热井必须要钻到地面两公里以下的地方，

The steam released by the wells is monitored for several months. If it's exploitable, hot water and steam are extracted from the well.  The steam travels through pipes to a power plant, where it is converted into electrical energy. The water is re-injected into the earth.

然后通过地热井释放出的蒸汽需要几个月的监测。如果符合可开发条件，地热水和蒸汽就会通进钻井抽取出来。蒸汽通过众多管道进入到地热发电厂，在那里它被转换成电力。利用完后的水又重新注回到地下。

Displacement 9 fears

搬迁的恐慌

Near the wells, KenGen is also developing a geothermal spa. It features a large pool with mineral-rich waters, modeled after the Blue Lagoon 10 in Iceland where many KenGen engineers studied.  

在地热井的附近，KenGen公司正在模仿冰岛Blue Lagoon温泉疗养院进行spa疗养院的开发。它的特色就是一个大的富含矿物质的温泉水池。

But not all Kenyans support the expansion of geothermal energy.  

但不是所有的肯尼亚人赞成地热能源的开发。

Reuben Sempui belongs to a Masaai community on Mt. Suswa, the site of a proposed geothermal project.

Reuben Sempui是一个叫Masaai 的部落的居民，这个部落位于地热开发地点的Suswa山上。

"The Masaai live inside the outer crater 11 rim 5. In the inner crater rim, nobody lives there," Sempui explained. "So these are the manyattas [homesteads] where the Masaai live."

他抱怨的说：“我们Masaai人住火山边缘的外面，边缘里面是无人区，那里是Masaai的村落。

Sempui’s community faces displacement if the project goes ahead. Members of the community are negotiating with KenGen, demanding employment opportunities and a share of the revenue generated by the well. 

Sempui 的部落害怕由于地热项目的进行迫使他们搬迁，居民们正在和Ken Gen公司进行谈判，争取工作机会以及分享地热井开发项目的利益。