可再生能源革命挑战行业旧秩序

2014-11-06 18:41:52来源：网络

　　In Germany, where solar panels supply 7 percent of power and wind turbines about 10percent, wholesale power prices have crashed during what were once the most profitabletimes of day. “We were late entering into the renewables market — possibly too late,” PeterTerium, chief executive of the giant utility RWE, admitted this spring as he announced a $3.8billion annual loss.

　　在德国，太阳能面板和风力涡轮机的发电量分别占总发电量的7%和10%，一度最有利可图的用电高峰期的趸售电价已经大幅下降。公用事业巨头莱茵集团(RWE)的首席执行官彼得˙特里乌姆(Peter Terium)于今年春天宣布该集团亏损了38亿美元时承认：“我们进入可再生能源市场的时间有些晚——也许是太晚了。”

　　The big German utilities are warning — or pleading, perhaps — that the revolution cannot beallowed to go forward without them. And outside experts say they may have a point.

　　德国的这些大型公用事业公司提醒说——也许可以称之为恳求——这场革命要想进行下去，就得带上它们。外部专家称，他们的话或许有点道理。

　　The Achilles’ heel of renewable power is that it is intermittent, so German utilities have had todial their conventional power plants up and down rapidly to compensate. The plants are notnecessarily profitable when operated this way, and the utilities have been threatening toshut down facilities that some analysts say the country needs as backup.

　　可再生能源有一个致命的弱点，即供电的间歇性。因此，德国的公用事业公司不得不通过迅速调高或调低传统发电厂的发电量来保持供需平衡。以这种方式运营的传统发电厂未必有利可图，公用事业公司一直扬言要关闭这些电厂，但有分析人士认为德国需要用它们来应对不时之需。

　　The situation is further complicated by the government’s determination to get rid ofGermany’s nuclear power stations over the next decade, the culmination of a long battle thatreached its peak after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan. As that plan unfolds, shuttingdown a source of low-emission power, Germany’s notable success in cutting greenhousegases has stalled.

　　由于德国政府决意放弃核能，情况变得越发复杂。2011年日本福岛核泄漏事故发生后，在德国存在已久的核电站存废之争终于有了结果：该国政府宣布将用10年时间关闭国内的核电站。随着这一计划的实施，清洁电能的一个来源将被切断，德国在温室气体减排方面取得的令人瞩目的成绩已经停滞不前。

　　In fact, the problems with the energiewende (pronounced in-ur-GEE-vend-uh) have multipliedso rapidly in the past couple of years that the government is now trying to slow down thetransition. “I think we need a little bit of time,” said Jochen Flasbarth, a deputy minister ofthe environment.

　　事实上，能源转型带来的问题在过去几年里迅速增多，以致于德国政府正竭力放缓转型的脚步。“我认为我们还需要一点点时间，”德国环境部副部长约亨·弗拉斯巴斯(Jochen Flasbarth)说。

　　Technological Innovation

　　技术创新

　　As renewable energy sources start to cause gyrations in power supplies and prices, expertscontend that clever new market rules could keep the costs reasonable.

　　可再生能源开始让电力供给和价格产生波动之际，有专家认为，如果新建立的市场规则足够明智，应该可以把成本控制在合理范围内。

　　Some of the innovations they recommend are already in use to some extent — pioneered inthe United States, with Germany avidly studying them. They include regular payments topersuade utilities to keep some fossil-fuel power plants on standby for times when renewablesources lag.

　　他们所推荐的一些新制度，在某种程度上已经得到了应用——这些制度是由美国率先实施的，德国正在积极研究。其中包括定期付费给公用事业公司，令其保留一些化石燃料发电厂，在可再生能源短缺时作应急之用。

　　“It’s like a retainer you pay your lawyer to keep her around in case you need her,” said Jay Apt,an electricity expert at Carnegie Mellon University.

　　“就好比你向你的律师支付聘金，以确保她在你需要的时候一定会出现，”卡内基梅隆大学(Carnegie MellonUniversity)的电力专家杰伊·阿普特(Jay Apt)说。

　　For Germans, the unpredictability of onshore renewable power explains the appeal of offshorewind. The stiff, steady breezes in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea mean that turbines builtthere will produce far more power than land turbines.

　　对德国人而言，由于内陆地区可再生能源电力的产量存在不可预测性，海风的吸引力便显现了出来。北海和波罗的海上空的风力强大而稳定，意味着安装在那里的涡轮机在发电量上远远高于内陆地区的涡轮机。

本文关键字: 可再生能源革命挑战行业旧秩序