【原】对于煤炭来说是坏消息：风能和太阳能原来越便宜了。英语读头条（第521期）

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More bad news for coal: Wind and solar are getting cheaper

对于煤炭来说是坏消息：风能和太阳能原来越便宜了

By Matt Egan / Mar. 25, 2019

The simple laws of economics threaten to doom America's remaining coal power plants.

单纯的经济规律，威胁着美国剩余的燃煤发电厂。

Wind and solar costs have plunged so rapidly that 74% of the US coal fleet could be phased out for renewable energy -- and still save customers money, according to a report released on Monday by Energy Innovation, a nonpartisan think tank.

无党派智库能源创新（Energy Innovation）周一发布的一份报告显示，风能和太阳能成本急剧下降，美国74%的煤炭公司可能会被可再生能源逐步淘汰，但仍能为客户节省资金。

plunged：暴跌，骤降

phased out：逐步淘汰

That figure of at-risk coal plants in the United States rises to 86% by 2025 as solar and wind costs continue to plunge.

随着太阳能和风能成本持续下降，到2025年，美国面临风险的燃煤发电厂的比例将上升到86%。

The research demonstrates how it's increasingly more expensive to operate existing coal plants than build clean energy alternatives.

这项研究表明，与建造清洁能源替代品相比，运营现有燃煤电厂的成本越来越高。

alternative：代用的，替代的

"US coal plants are in more danger than ever before," Mike O'Boyle, director of electricity policy at Energy Innovation, told CNN Business. "Nearly three-quarters of US coal plants are already 'zombie coal,' or the walking dead."

能源创新电力政策主管迈克·奥博伊尔（MikeO'Boyle）对美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）商业频道（Business）表示：“美国煤电厂的危险比以往任何时候都要大。美国近四分之三的煤电厂已经是‘僵尸煤电厂’，或者是行尸走肉“。

revive：恢复，重振

beleaguer：困扰，骚扰

slash：大幅削减，猛砍

clamped down：钳制

emission：排放，排放物

Rust Belt coal plants under siege

处于困境的衰退的煤电厂

The Energy Innovation report found that in 2018, 211 gigawatts of existing US coal capacity -- or 74% of America's fleet -- was at risk from local wind or solar that could more cheaply churn out just as much electricity.

"能源创新"的报告发现，2018年，美国现有煤炭发电量211千兆瓦（占美国总发电量的74%）面临着来自当地风能或太阳能发电的替代风险，用它们生产发电量可能更便宜。

churn out：快速生产，大量生产

North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Texas are the US states that have the greatest amount of coal plants at risk from local solar and wind, the analysis found. Energy Innovation defined local as within 35 miles.

分析发现，北卡罗来纳州、佛罗里达州、乔治亚州和德克萨斯州是受当地太阳能和风能替代危险最大的州。能源创新将当地定义为35英里以内。

By 2025, Midwestern states including Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin are expected to have high amounts of coal capacity under pressure from renewable energy.

到2025年，包括印第安纳州、密歇根州、俄亥俄州和威斯康星州在内的中西部各州预计在可再生能源的压力下拥有大量的煤炭产能。

Of course, just because it may be economically feasible to shut down a coal plant and replace it with wind or solar, doesn't mean it will happen right away. State regulators must sign off on such decisions. And many power plants will decide to pass the extra costs on to customers.

当然，仅仅因为关闭一个燃煤发电厂并用风能或太阳能替代它在经济上是可行的，并不意味着它会马上发生。国家监管机构必须签署此类决定。而且许多发电厂会决定把额外的成本转嫁给客户。

Moreover, coal is still a major employer in parts of Appalachia, making any shutdown potentially damaging to the local economy.

此外，煤炭仍然是阿巴拉契亚部分地区的主要行业，任何停工都可能对当地经济造成损害。

Appalachia：阿巴拉契亚

Coal has been dethroned

煤炭已经被淘汰了

dethroned：废黜

Coal was the longtime king of the power industry before it encountered fierce competition last decade from natural gas. Not only is natural gas a cleaner burning fossil fuel, but it's in abundance in the United States thanks to the shale revolution. In 2016, natural gas surpassed coal for the first time as America's leading power source.

在过去十年中，煤炭受到天然气的激烈竞争之前，它一直是电力工业的王者。天然气不仅是一种清洁燃烧的化石燃料，而且由于页岩革命，它在美国非常丰富。2016年，天然气首次超过煤炭，成为美国领先的能源来源。

shale：页岩

in abundance：充足，丰富

Meanwhile, the share of total power generation from coal-fired power plants plunged from 48% in 2008 to just 28% last year, according to government statistics.

同时，据政府统计，燃煤发电厂的总发电量份额从2008年的48%下降到去年的28%。

And the rise of renewables means that the economics have once again swung against coal. Aided by a surge of investment in clean energy, solar prices have plummeted 90% since 2009 -- and they're projected to continue declining, according to Energy Innovation.

可再生能源的兴起意味着经济再次对煤炭产生冲击。在清洁能源投资激增的推动下，太阳能价格自2009年以来已暴跌90%，据能源创新公司（Energy Innovation）的数据，预计将继续下跌。

plummet：垂直下降，骤然跌落

surge：大浪，波涛

Against that backdrop, renewable energy is projected to be the fastest-growing source of US electricity generation for at least the next two years, according to a January report published by the US Energy Information Administration.

根据美国能源信息管理局1月份发布的一份报告，在这种背景下，可再生能源预计将至少在未来两年成为美国发电量增长最快的来源。

backdrop：背景

Utility-scale solar power is expected to increase by 10% in 2019 alone, while wind power is expected to vault ahead of hydropower for the first time, the EIA said.

环评报告称，仅在2019年，公用事业规模的太阳能发电预计将增长10%，而风力发电预计将首次超越水力发电。

Utility-scale：公用事业规模

vault：跳跃

"Coal's biggest threat is now economics, not regulations," O'Boyle said.

奥博伊尔说：“煤炭的最大威胁现在是经济，而不是法规。”

New Mexico pledges to go carbon free

新墨西哥州承诺无碳排放

Another challenge for coal: American households and businesses are increasingly clamoring for clean energy as they worry about climate change.

煤炭面临的另一个挑战是：由于担心气候变化，美国家庭和企业越来越多地呼吁清洁能源。

clamoring：喧闹，叫嚣

Households and businesses are installing their own solar panels. Small-scape solar generating capacity is expected to grow by 44% over the next two years, according to the EIA.

家庭和企业正在安装自己的太阳能电池板。根据环境影响评估，小型太阳能发电设备的发电量预计在未来两年增长44%。

Pressured by voters, US states are adopting ambitious clean energy targets -- and they're framing them as job creators.

在选民的压力下，美国各州正在采取雄心勃勃的清洁能源目标，并将其界定为创造就业的因素。

Last week, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law a bold plan that aims to source half the state's power from renewable energy by 2030. And by 2045, New Mexico plans to be 100% carbon-free.

上周，新墨西哥州州长鲁扬·格里沙姆（Michelle Lujan Grisham）签署了一项大胆的计划，该计划旨在到2030年前将该州一半的电力来自使用可再生能源。到2045年，新墨西哥州计划使用100%无碳排放能源。

Future generations "will benefit from both a cleaner environment and a more robust energy economy with exciting career and job opportunities," Lujan Grisham said in a statement.

鲁扬·格里沙姆在一份声明中说，下一代“将受益于更清洁的环境和更强劲的能源经济，以及令人兴奋的职业和就业机会。”

California and Hawaii also recently passed 100% clean energy targets.

加州和夏威夷最近也通过了100%的清洁能源目标。

Some power companies are moving rapidly to adjust to this new environment.

一些电力公司正在迅速适应这种新环境。

Xcel Energy (XEL), a Minneapolis-based power company that serves western and Midwestern states, recently pledged to deliver 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050. The plan calls for doubling Xcel's wind power while slashing its dependence on coal.

Xcel能源公司（XEL），一家位于明尼阿波利斯的电力公司，为西部和中西部各州提供服务，最近承诺到2050年提供100%的无碳电力。该计划要求将Xcel的风力发电量翻番，同时减少对煤炭的依赖。

All signs point to more and more power companies waking up to the new clean energy reality.

所有迹象都表明，越来越多的电力公司意识到了清洁能源已经到来的现实了。