【经济学人】打响与碳能源的战斗 | 2016.10.29 | 总第746期

THE battle between clean energy and dirty coal has entered a new phase. The International Energy Agency (IEA), an industry forecaster, this week reported that in 2015 for the first time renewable energy passed coal as the world’s biggest source of power-generating capacity.

清洁能源和煤炭能源的新一轮斗争已经打响。据国际能源署——一个行业预测机构，本周报道，2015年再生能源首次超过煤炭资源，成为全球最大发电能源。

• renewable energy n. 再生能源

The IEA, whose projections for wind and solar energy have in the past been criticised as too low, accepted that renewables are transforming electricity markets. Last year 500,000 solar panels were installed every day around the world. In China alone, home to a whopping 40% of the 153 gigawatts (GW) of global growth in renewable-energy installations, two wind turbines were erected every hour. Based on existing policies, it forecasts that from 2015-21, 825GW of new renewable capacity will be added globally, 13% more than it projected just last year.

过去国际能源署的风能和太阳能项目，因为都是低级能源而饱受争议。但国际能源署已经接受了可再生能源正在变革能源市场的事实。去年全球每天安装的太阳能板就有50万块。全球再生能源安装总容量是153千兆瓦，中国占了40%，平均每小时便有2台风力发电涡轮机完成建设。从现有政策来看，能源署预计从2015年到2021年，全球新兴再生能源容量将再增加825千兆瓦。此数据比去年上升了13个百分点。

• whopping：adj. 巨大的

• wind turbine：n. 风力发电涡轮机

• gigawatt：n. 千兆瓦

All those new wind and solar plants will not generate electricity all the time. Unlike coal, which burns around the clock, renewables are intermittent. But the IEA expects the share of renewables in total power generation to rise to almost 28% from 21%. Government policies to curb global warming and reduce air pollution are the driving force behind the clean-energy revolution, as well as falling prices of solar panels and wind turbines. The IEA expects America to eclipse the EU to become the second-biggest market for renewables (after China) in the next few years, thanks to an extension of federal tax credits to wind and solar producers. Because electricity demand in rich countries is falling, renewables are driving out other sources of electricity. But in developing countries, they are still not being built fast enough to keep up with demand (see chart).

所有这些新建的风能和太阳能发电厂并不能全天候发电。它们煤炭不同，煤炭可以24小时燃烧，然而这些再生能源只能间歇性发电。但是国际能源署预计再生能源所占比例将从原来的21%上升到28%。旨在控制全球变暖，减少空气污染的政府政策的推行，太阳能板和风力发电涡轮机价格的不断下跌，将促进清洁能源的变革。国际能源署预计在接下来的几年内，美国通过推行针对风能和太阳能生产商的联邦税收优惠法，将取代欧盟，成为未来继中国之后全球第二大再生能源市场。发达国家能源需求不断缩减，再生能源可以将其他能源驱逐出市。然而在发展中国家，再生能源增长水平仍不能满足人们的需求(见表格)。

• intermittent adj. 间歇性

• eclipse v. 遮住

LauriMyllyvirta, a Chinese-energy expert at Greenpeace, an environmental NGO, says the IEA may still be underestimating the “exponential growth dynamics” of renewables. For instance, more grid-connected solar energy was installed in China in the first half of 2016 than in the whole of last year, he says.

来自绿色和平组织（一家保护环境非政府组织）的中国能源专家LauriMyllyvirta表示国际能源署低估了再生能源强大的“生长力指数”。比如，2016年上半年，中国安装的太阳能并网结构，就已超过2015年全年的总量。

• grid-connected：adj 并网的

绿色和平组织

Yet coal is also showing surprising resilience. Earlier this year the betting was that thermal-coal prices would sink because of falling investment in new coal-fired power plants and a decline in long-term demand. Since mid-year, however, they have doubled to $100 a tonne. The reason, again, is China. Its authorities imposed restrictions on its debt-strapped coal miners, limiting them to 276 working days of production a year, in order to push up prices. Partly because of rampant speculation in the Chinese futures market, the measures worked better than expected. Faced with an unwanted surge of imports, the government has since set out to loosen them. Yet if the rally continues, it would give a further fillip to the green brigade: higher coal prices will squeeze the margins of their dirty rivals.

然而煤炭也显示出超乎寻常的生命力。今年早期有人笃定:因燃煤发电厂投资的减少，长期需求的减少，将导致热能煤价格下跌。然而从年中以来，煤炭价格上升到了100美元/吨，翻了一倍。这次还是因为中国。中国政府对债务深陷煤炭厂家进行诸多限制，限制每年只能开采276天，以提高煤炭价格。部分原因是中国期货市场投机热，此政策的效果超乎原先的预想。期待您的翻译，您可以将翻译留言到文章底部，第二天会有详细解析哦。

• thermal-coal：n. 热能煤

• fillip：v. 刺激

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