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The invention of the incandescent light bulb by Thomas A. Edison in 1879 created a demand for a cheap, readily |
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available fuel with which to generate large amounts of electric power. Coal seemed to fit the bill, and it fueled the earliest power stations. which were set up at the end of the nineteenth century by Edison himself. As more power plants were constructed throughout the country, the reliance on coal increased throughout the country, the reliance on coal increased. Since the First World War, coalfired power plants had a combined in the United States each year. In 1986 such plants had a combined generating capacity of 289, 000 megawatts and consumed 83 percent of the nearly 900 million tons of coal mined in the country that year. Given the uncertainty in the future growth of the nearly 900 million tons of coal mined in the country that year. Given the uncertainty in the future growth of nuclear power and in the supply of oil and natural gas, coalfired power plants could well provide up to 70 percent of the electric power in the United States by the end of the century. Yet, in spite of the fact that coal has long been a source of electricity and may remain on for many years coal represents about 80 percent of United States fossilfuel reserves, it has actually never been the most desirable fossil fuel for power plants. Coal contains less energy per unit of weight than weight than natural gas or oil it is difficult to transport, and it is associated with a host of environmental issues, among them acid rain. Since the late 1960' s problems of emission control and waste disposal have sharply reduced the appeal of coalfired power plants. The cost of ameliorating these environment problems along with the rising cost of building a facility as large and complex as a coalfired power plant, have also made such plants less attractive from a purely economic perspective. Changes in the technological base of coalfired power plants could restore their attractiveness, however. Whereas some of these changes are intended mainly to increase the productivity of existing plants, completely new technologies for burning coal cleanly are also being developed. |
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tuō mǎ sī ài dí shēng 1879 nián fā míng de bái chì dēng dǎo zhì duì pián yí yì dé kě shēng chǎn dà liàng diàn néng de rán liào de xū qiú. méi sì hū fú hé zhè gè yāo qiú, bìng chéng wéi dì yī pī diàn chǎng de rán liào zhèng shì ài dí shēng běn rén zài 19 shì jì mò jiàn zào le dì yī pī diàn chǎng. quán guó dào chù xīng jiàn diàn chǎng shí, duì méi de yī lài jiā shēn le. zì dì yī cì shì jiè dà zhàn yǐ lái, měi guó měi nián yuē yǒu yī bàn de diàn lì shì yǐ méi wèi rán liào de diàn chǎng tí gōng de. 1986 nián zhèi xiē diàn chǎng de zǒng fā diàn néng lì dá dào 28, 900 qiān wǎ bìng qiě xiāo hào liǎo dàng nián quán guó kāi cǎi de jiǔ yì dūn méi de 83. kǎo lǜ dào hé néng fā zhǎn yǐ jí shí yóu tiān rán qì gōng yìng zhōng de bù què dìng yīn sù, dào běn shì jì mò, huǒ lì fā diàn chǎng réng kě néng wéi měi guó tí gōng duō dá 70 de diàn lì. rán ér, jǐn guǎn méi cháng qī yǐ lái yī zhí shì diàn lì de yuán liào zhī yī bìng qiě kě néng huì jì xù rú cǐ méi zhàn měi guó huà shí rán liào chǔ liàng de 80, tā què bú shì diàn chǎng de lǐ xiǎng rán liào. méi de dān wèi néng liàng hán liàng dī yú shí yóu hé tiān rán qì, ér qiě huì dǎo zhì bāo kuò suān yǔ zài nèi de yī xì liè huán jìng wèn tí. cóng 1960 nián yǐ lái, pái fàng kòng zhì hé lā jī chǔ lǐ de wèn tí jí dà dì xuē ruò le rán méi diàn chǎng de mèi lì. yóu yú jiǎn qīng zhèi xiē huán jìng wèn tí xū yào dà liàng zī jīn, ér qiě jiàn zào páng dà fù zá de rán méi diàn chǎng de fèi yòng bù duàn shàng zhǎng, yě shǐ de zhèi xiē diàn chǎng cóng jīng jì jiǎo dù shàng bù jù bèi xī yǐn lì. gǎi biàn huǒ lì fā diàn chǎng de jī chǔ jì shù què kě néng huī fù tā men de xī yǐn lì. suī rán mǒu xiē jì shù gǎi jìn shì jiàn jìn de, qí mù dì zhǐ shì tí gāo xiàn yǒu diàn chǎng de shēng chǎn lǜ, dàn rén men zhèng zài kāi fā quán xīn de qīng jié rán méi de jì shù. |