多家公司尝试利用潮汐能发电

Tidal energy is a relatively new form of power production.

潮汐能是一种相对较新的发电方式。

The publication 'NS Energy" says it's possible it could damage marine life or change shorelines and it has to be built close to land because it relies on powerful currents to generate energy.

“NS能源”刊登的文章表示，潮汐能可能会损害海洋生物或改变海岸线，潮汐能必须建在靠近陆地的地方，因为该能源依赖强大的水流产生能量。

Also, not everyone supports using taxpayer dollars to subsidize or support green energy, but the technology is moving forward.

此外，并不是所有人都支持用纳税人的钱来补贴或支持绿色能源，但技术正在进步。

For decades, wind and solar have been the centerpieces of green energy.

几十年来，风能和太阳能一直是绿色能源的核心。

But the ocean's ever constant waves and tides are also rich with renewable power that has remained largely untapped.

但海洋中源源不断的海浪和潮汐也蕴藏着丰富的可再生能源，这些能源在很大程度上尚未开发。

Off the coast of Scotland, Orbital Marine Power is one of the companies trying to change that.

在苏格兰海岸附近，轨道海事动力公司是试图改变这种状况的公司之一。

Its jumbo jet size floating platform called the O2 has two giant rotors that sit 60 feet below the surface of the water and can harness the energy of the ocean's tides. It's kinetic energy.

这个公司的巨型喷气式飞机大小的浮动式平台名为O2，它有两个巨大的螺旋桨，位于水面下60英尺，可以利用海洋潮汐的能量。这是动能。

So the bits of technology that generate the power look not too different to a wind turbine.

因此，产生电力的技术看起来与风力涡轮机没有太大的不同。

But unlike wind turbines that have to accommodate for wind coming from all directions, the O2 only needs to capture energy from two.

但与必须适应来自各个方向的风的风力涡轮机不同，O2只需要捕获来自两个方向的能量。

You have a flood tide when the tide comes in, you have an ebb time when the tide goes out.

当潮水到来时涨潮，当潮水退去时退潮。

And tides are far more reliable than wind.

而且潮汐比风可靠得多。

You can predict those motions years and decades into advance.

你可以提前几年甚至几十年预测这些潮汐运动。

This is Orbital's third tidal turbine system to be connected to the U.K. national grid for testing since 2012.

这是自2012年以来，轨道海事动力公司第三次将潮汐涡轮机系统连接到英国国家电网进行测试。

This latest design features rotors that can lift out of the water for easier access for repairs.

这种最新设计的螺旋桨可以升出水面，便于维修。

The company says one O2 unit generates up to megawatts which it says is enough to power around 2,000 homes a year.

该公司表示，一个O2机组可以产生高达兆瓦的电力，每年足以为大约2000个家庭供电。

Think of what Verdant Power's doing at Roosevelt Island in New York City is what the Wright Brothers did at Kitty Hawk.

想想绿色动力公司在纽约罗斯福岛所做的事情就像莱特兄弟在基蒂霍克所做的一样。

In the U.S. Verdant Power's tri-frame system operates at the bottom of the East River, which is actually a tidal strait.

在美国，绿色动力公司的三框架系统在伊斯特河的底部运行，而伊斯特河实际上是一个潮汐海峡。

It's in a pre-commercial phase but actively delivers power to New York City's electric grid.

目前还处于前商业阶段，但在积极向纽约市电网输送电力。

The potential for marine energy is something like 250 gigawatts around the world and that's just tidal.

全球海洋能源的潜力大约是250亿瓦，这还只是潮汐能。

Doesn't include rivers or large canals.

这不包括河流或大型运河。

So you can see the potential for the applications not only our technology but competitors as well.

所以你可以看到应用的潜力，不仅是我们的技术，还有我们的竞争对手。

I mean, there's lots of room and we really hope our competitors succeed too for the sake of the industry, but we've got to get our costs down.

我的意思是，有很大的空间，我们真的希望我们的竞争对手为了这个行业也能成功，但我们必须降低我们的成本。

Right now, the high cost of building, operating and maintaining tidal power technology means that tidal energy comes at a premium.

目前，建造、运行和维护潮汐能技术的高昂成本意味着潮汐能的价格很高。

But government investment could play a vital role in driving the price tag down.

但政府投资可能在压低价格方面发挥关键作用。