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  3. Venture capitalists have found it difficult to make investments in wind power for the fact that most wind power demands quite la

Venture capitalists have found it difficult to make investments in wind power for the fact that most wind power demands quite la

admin2017-04-13  87
问题     Venture capitalists have found it difficult to make investments in wind power for the fact that most wind power demands quite large-scale wind farms to produce electricity. New technology could change that. Earlier this month, Southwest Windpower(SWWP)raised $8 million to launch a small generator that could bring wind power to individual homes and businesses. "It will unlock an extraordinary market" says Hap Ellis, a general partner at RockPort Capital Partners, which led the round.
    It’s easy to see why Mr. Ellis is excited. Global wind markets grew 47 percent to $11.8 billion in 2005, and are expected to reach $48.5 billion in 2015, according to Clean Edge, a market research firm. With this deal, RockPort and its partner companies may have found a way to harness a wind storm that was once the sole domain of big utilities.
    While SWWP already makes small wind turbines for "off-grid" customers—that is, customers too isolated to be connected to the electric network—it has only sold some 95,000 in the last seven years. The grid-connected market is potentially far larger, as Mr. Greco estimates 13 million homes could use the grid-connected technology in the United States alone. But wind power hasn’t been widely used in grid-connected homes and businesses because the technology requires a number of inverters and controllers, and installation is complicated, he says.
    SWWP’s new turbine is much easier to use. It includes all the inverters, controllers, and other parts needed to connect to the grid. They are all contained within the body of the generator, lowering the production and installation costs, says Mr. Greco, who expects a retail price of around $5,500. At that price, the average cost per kilowatt hour would be $0.08—not including subsidies available in many states, he says.
    That means wind can beat the cost of regular electricity, which in the U.S. averages $0.09 per kilowatt hour, he says. The turbine also produces electricity at lower wind speeds and the blades top out at only 300 rotations per minute to reduce noise, he says. SWWP estimates the potential grid-connected market is worth about $1 billion. The company made revenues of "just under" $10 million in 2005, and expects a 70 percent growth rate this year because of the new product, Mr. Greco says. "We will be extremely profitable this year," he says. Let’s hope that Mr. Greco’s prediction turns out to be more than just a lot of wind.
Wind power has not been widely used by grid-connected homes and businesses in that
选项 A、it is more expensive and noisier.
B、the technology involved is complex.
C、they are not allowed to use wind power.
D、they don’t get subsidies in many states.
答案B
解析 事实细节题。考察因果细节，根据grid-connected定位到第三段。本段最后一句中，because引导的从句说明了风能并未在连接了电网的家庭和企业中广泛应用的原因是该技术需要大量设备，而且安装复杂，故B项正确。
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