作为世界工业革命的发源地,21世纪的英国并没有这一荣誉丢脸,现如今,不论是在任何一个科技领域,英国都走在世界各国的前端,随着科技的发展,泰晤士河畔也失去了往日的宁静,取而代之的是喧嚣的现代化建筑。而2014年将伦敦黑衣修士桥Blackfriars Bridge成功改造为世界最大的太阳能桥,英国再次向世界展示了他的科技力量。黑衣修士桥主要用于火车运行,同时也可供行人和汽车使用,铁路桥和公路桥平行延伸,互不影响。此次改造共安装了4,400块太阳能光板、总面积6,000平方米,每年可以减少511吨二氧化碳排放量,相当于89,000辆汽车排出的尾气。“这座大桥不但具有巨大的工业意义,同时它的生态意义才是更加引人瞩目的地方,根据我们惯常的思维,工业的发展一定会以生态环境的牺牲作为代价,但是在黑衣修士桥上,我看到了工业与自然的完美结合,毫无疑问,这座桥为世界开创了一个里程碑式的新时代,从此以后,包括圣保罗大教堂在内,泰晤士沿岸的标志性建筑都会以一种全新的形象出现在世人眼前。”
灰色天空下的世界最大太阳能桥Gray skies are no match for the world’s largest solar bridge
By Meera Senthilingam, for CNN.Updated 1501 GMT (2201 HKT) September 24, 2014
要点Story highlights
伦敦黑衣修士大桥是世界上最大的太阳能桥。Blackfriars bridge in the City of London is the world’s largest solar-powered bridge.
超过4400块光伏电池,屋顶面积6000平方米。Over 4,400 photovoltaic cells occupy a roof area of 6000 square meters.
在桥上为黑衣修士站提供50%清洁能源。Clean energy provides 50 percent of the requirements of Blackfriars railway station, located on the bridge.
每年减少511吨碳排放量。The array is estimated to reduce carbon emissions by 511 tonnes per year.
建于1886年的老维多利亚桥横跨泰晤士河,与其他城市桥梁不同,它还是一个服务所有周边地区乘客的火车站,同时是一个绝美的观景点。The old Victorian bridge was built across the river Thames in 1886, but unlike other bridges throughout the city, it also operates as a railway station to serve commuters from all the surrounding areas, while offering a stunning view.
作为跨越泰晤士河的始发站,该桥上能源消耗压力一直很大。Being the first station to span the river Thames, the bridge has always had high demands on power.
2009年改头换面:拆除桥面铁艺,重建自用的太阳能发电系统。In 2009 it received a makeover: the wrought-iron bridge was dismantled and rebuilt to generate its own power using the sun.
新屋顶安装了太阳能电池板,面积超过6000平方米,这足以覆盖23个网球场。在晴朗的日子,可以产生高达1兆瓦的电力。A new roof was installed, housing solar panels over 6000 square meters, which is enough to cover 23 tennis courts. On a sunny day, the canopy can produce up to a megawatt of electricity.
该桥在2012日重新开放,其中光伏电池屋顶是整个升级项目(涉及整个车站,以满足更多乘客,提供更好服务)的一部分。The bridge reopened in 2012 and the installation of the array was part of a larger upgrading project involving the station as a whole to cater for more passengers and improve services.
“它产生的电力足够每天烧开80000杯茶,”工程负责人克里斯宾斯解释。"It generates enough electricity to make about 80,000 cups of tea a day," explains Chris Binns, head of engineering at Network Rail who led the upgrade.
使用太阳能为黑衣修士站提供了50%以上清洁能源,每年减少511吨碳排放量。The use of solar power now provides up to 50 percent of the energy needed at the station and is estimated to reduce carbon emissions by 511 tonnes per year.
全球太阳能电池板产量增加,特别是中国,带来了太阳能电池价格暴跌,使得这样的设计更经济实惠。The increased production of solar panels worldwide, particularly in China, has brought the previously high expense of solar cells plummeting down to make designs like this more affordable.
“这是一个很好案例,展示了英国人有能力建成世界上伟大的工程,”帝国理工学院太阳能专家Ned Ekins-Daukes教授说,”这是世界上最大的太阳能桥梁,而且建造在英国,而不是一个众所周知的阳光国度。”//"It’s a wonderful showcase of how Britain can actually build something that’s significant," says Professor Ned Ekins-Daukes, an expert on solar energy at Imperial College London. "This is the most powerful bridge in the world and it’s using solar power in Britain, not a country well known for its sunshine."
世界各地越来越多的城市利用太阳的能源,甚至埃菲尔铁塔和泰姬陵等地标建筑都规划安装太阳能电池板。Cities across the world are increasingly harnessing the sun’s energy, with landmarks as iconic as the Eiffel tower and Taj Mahal planning to incorporate solar panels into their architecture.
如果在伦敦那灰色天空下都能取得良好效果,试想世界其他地方会怎么样?!If the gray skies of London can accomplish such results across the Thames, imagine the potential elsewhere.
1869年建成的黑衣修士桥为五孔拱桥,长281米、宽32米,横跨泰晤士河,穿过伦敦的心脏地带,由维多利亚女王下令施工,建设工程历时9年,当时它还不叫黑衣修士,而是按照当时的英国首相的名字,即威廉·皮特William Pit命名的,直到后来才被改名为黑衣修士。黑衣修士这个名字的灵感来自多米尼加修道院Orden Dominica的修士形象,这家修道院是由时任西班牙国王多福朗明哥·费力克斯·德·古斯曼Domingo Félix de Guzmán于1278年下令建立的,后来于1538年被拆毁。值得一提的是,黑衣修士桥有一段神秘的历史,1982年,曾经有一位意大利银行家被吊在黑衣修士桥上,这名银行家名叫罗伯特·卡尔维Roberto Calvi,他被人发现时已经死亡,死亡原因至今不明,一时间众说纷纭,自杀、谋杀、黑手党战争等各种言论和猜想被提上桌面,还造成了一段时间的恐慌,至于当时到底发生了什么,估计只有这位“沉默的黑衣修士”才知道了。現在的黑衣修士鐵路橋是新建的。舊橋因載重不足拆除,但仍留下一根根的橘紅色舊橋墩。後面是火車站一景。