Solar Energy Used to Produce Wine in Chile

In Chile a fruit producing company is using new technology to produce energy. The company relies on solar panels to irrigate grape plantations. Chile is one of the driest places on Earth, but it has more potential solar power than Spain. It does not get subsidies from the government, which relies on fossil fuels for Chile’s future.

 

 

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Words

  • abundant = enough of something
  • advantage =benefit, good side
  • aquifer = underground layer of water
  • assure = promise
  • competitive = so that you can earn money
  • consume = use up
  • co-owner = if something belongs to you and someone else
  • copper mine = place where copper ( a yellowish soft metal) is dug out of the ground
  • development bank = bank that finances projects in other countries, especially those of the Third World
  • efficient = here: it works well and is cheaper
  • energy plant = factory or building that produces electricity
  • entrepreneur = businessman
  • excess = what you do not need
  • fossil fuels = energy that comes from organic material, like coal, oil or natural gas
  • government = the people who rule a country
  • grape vine = a long plant that grows up a piece of wood and has grapes on it
  • grid = electrical system of a country
  • implement = to make something work
  • irradiation = here: the intensity that the sun shines with
  • irrigate = to bring water to a normally dry area
  • lack = not enough
  • limited = not in a very great amount
  • loan = money that you borrow and must pay back later
  • opportunity = chance
  • power = to give energy to
  • profitable = make money
  • rate = price
  • reconfigure = to organize something differently so that it works with another setup
  • renewable = something that can be used over and over again
  • resource = raw material
  • solar panel = flat object that you put on a roof ; it collects and uses the sun’s energy to heat water or make electricity
  • source = where something comes from
  • subsidy = money that you get from the government to make prices lower
  • supply = produce
  • sustainable = without causing damage to the environment or able to continue for a long time
  • uncertainty = something that is not clear
  • unforgiving = very difficult to live in
  • venture = project