空氣污染致命，中國向清潔能源敞開懷抱

This is why China is embracing clean energy: coal is killing people

空氣污染致命，中國向清潔能源敞開懷抱

China spent a jaw-dropping $80 billion last year on clean energy, including wind projects and solar farms. That’s more than double what the U.S. spent last year.

去年，中國對清潔能源的投資達到驚人的800億美元，其中包括風電項目和太陽能電站，是美國去年該項支出的兩倍多。

One of the major reasons behind this spending spree is the country’s serious air pollution problem, which is largely caused by dirty coal power plants. According to a report released on Friday from research group Berkeley Earth, air pollution is contributing to an average of 4,000 deaths a day, or 1.6 million a year, in China.

中國之所以愿意大掏腰包，主要原因之一是中國的空氣污染十分嚴重，而這很大程度上是由于高污染的燃煤電廠導致的。研究團隊Berkeley Earth上周五發(fā)布的報告顯示，空氣污染平均每天在中國奪走4000人的生命，中國每年因此死亡的人數(shù)高達160萬。

Much of the air pollution — visible in the smog that covers cities like Beijing — is coming from coal power plants that lie in industrial zones as far as 200 miles away from cities. The findings are interesting because the Chinese government has made a variety of efforts to clean up air pollution in cities by taking local measures, like curbing gas-powered cars within cities and closing coal plants near cities.

說到空氣污染，看看籠罩在北京等城市上空的霧霾就知道了。這些污染大多來自距城市200英里遠的工業(yè)園區(qū)的燃煤電廠。這一發(fā)現(xiàn)十分有趣。其原因在于，為解決城市空氣污染，中國政府采取了許多著眼于本地的措施，比如限制市區(qū)內(nèi)燃油汽車的數(shù)量，關(guān)閉城市附近的燃煤電廠等等。

But if city pollution is coming mostly from the country’s coal plants far away, the government will be required to make bigger, and deeper changes to the country’s energy infrastructure. China has been slowing its use of coal plants over the past two years in general, but is still expected to use coal for substantial electricity use in the future.

不過，如果城市污染的絕大部分都來自遙遠的燃煤電廠，政府就需要對中國的能源基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施進行更大規(guī)模、更深層次的調(diào)整。總體來說，中國在過去兩年中已經(jīng)減少了對燃煤電廠的依賴，但煤炭預計仍然是未來電力的主要來源。

China will be adding more energy infrastructure — both in the form of clean power and through gas, nuclear and coal — than any other country over the next several decades. Over the next 25 years China is expected to attract $3.3 trillion worth of investments for new power generation, according to a report earlier this year from research firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

在接下來的幾十年，中國增加的能源基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施會超過全球其他任何國家——這既包括清潔能源，還包括天然氣、核能和燃煤。根據(jù)研究公司Bloomberg New Energy Finance在今年早些時候發(fā)布的報告，未來25年，中國預計將投資3.3萬億美元興建新的發(fā)電設(shè)施。

China is by far the world’s largest wind and solar market. It expects to install 14 gigawatts of solar panels in 2015, which represent about a quarter out of the 55 gigawatt worldwide output, according to a recent report from GTM Research. According to research firm Navigant, China had 23 gigawatts worth of wind farms by the end of last year, while the U.S. had 4.85 gigawatts. A gigawatt is about the size of a large coal or gas plant.

到目前為止，中國已成為全球最大的風力和太陽能發(fā)電設(shè)備市場。GTM Research的最近一篇報告指出，中國預計將在2015年安裝140億瓦特的太陽能發(fā)電板，大約占全球總產(chǎn)能(550億瓦特)的四分之一。研究公司Navigant稱，中國在去年年底已經(jīng)有了230億瓦特的風電場，而美國只有48.5億瓦特。10億瓦特大約等同于一個大型燃煤電廠或燃氣廠的規(guī)模。

Likewise, while many countries around the world are closing or stalling nuclear plants, China is moving ahead with plans to install many nuclear plants over the next several years. The country is building 50 new nuclear plants, according to the International Energy Association.

與之類似，盡管許多國家正在關(guān)閉或停止建設(shè)核電站，但中國正在推行在未來幾年興建多家核電站的計劃。國際能源署表示，中國正在新建50座核電站。

重點詞匯學習：

energy ['en?d?i]

n. [物] 能量;精力;活力;精神

pollution [p?:'lju:??n]

n. 污染

electricity [,ilek'tris?ti]

n. 電力;電流;強烈的緊張情緒

substantial [s?b'stæn??l]

adj. 大量的;實質(zhì)的;內(nèi)容充實的n. 本質(zhì);重要材料