小型家庭共享電網(wǎng)興起

Energy companies are facing an uncomfortable truth: one day not all households will require their services.

能源企業(yè)正面臨一個令人不安的事實：有一天，并非所有家庭都會需要它們的服務。

Some people have been generating their own energy, instead of tapping into a national power grid, for decades.

數(shù)十年來，一些人一直在自己發(fā)電，而不是接入國家電網(wǎng)。

Early-adopters included former US president Jimmy Carter, who in 1979 had 32 solar panels installed at the White House. “No one can ever embargo the sun or interrupt its delivery to us,” he declared, referring to the Arab oil embargo earlier in the decade.

自發(fā)電的先行者包括美國前總統(tǒng)吉米•卡特(Jimmy Carter)。1979年，他在白宮屋頂上安裝了32塊太陽能電池板。“沒人能夠對太陽實施禁運，或者阻止陽光照射到我們這里，”他宣稱，暗指20世紀70年代初阿拉伯國家的石油禁運。

But self-generated power has been held back by high costs and inefficient technology: panels of the type Mr Carter used are now mostly to be found in museums.

但高成本和低效率的技術阻礙了自發(fā)電的發(fā)展：卡特當年使用的那種太陽能電池板現(xiàn)在大多只能在博物館看到了。

Until now that is. The concept is finally taking off, thanks to increasingly powerful batteries that can store wind and solar energy for use when the sun is not shining or wind blowing.

到目前為止是這樣沒錯。得益于日益先進的電池，這個概念終于開始起飛。這些電池能夠儲存風能和太陽能，以便在不出太陽或者不刮風的時候供電。

In Germany, about 20,000 households are already part of an initiative, launched by energy storage company Sonnen, which connects homes that independently produce energy. Sonnen’s virtual network allows them to buy and sell excess energy to each other at a reduced cost.

在德國，大約2萬個家庭已經(jīng)加入了能源儲存公司Sonnen發(fā)起的一項行動。該行動將自發(fā)電的住宅相互連接起來。在Sonnen的虛擬網(wǎng)絡中，各家庭能夠以較低的成本相互購買和出售多余的能源。

Sonnen is Europe’s largest maker of rechargeable energy storage packs. When the company launched in 2010, its battery packs sold for €25,000. Today, they cost €5,000.

Sonnen是歐洲最大的可充電能源儲存組生產商。2010年該公司成立時，其電池組的售價是2.5萬歐元。如今，這些電池組的售價為5000歐元。

“It’s a very good investment,” said Jens Heuson, a resident outside Munich who has solar panels on his shed and a Sonnen pack in his basement.

“這是非常好的投資，”居住在慕尼黑郊外的延斯•霍伊森(Jens Heuson)說。他在自己的棚屋上安裝了太陽能電池板，并在地下室中放置了一組Sonnen能源儲存組。

Mr Heuson no longer dreads the monthly letter from his power company, because it now contains a cheque rather than a bill.

霍伊森再也不用害怕接到電力公司每月寄來的信了，因為現(xiàn)在信封里裝的是支票而不是賬單。

In Brooklyn, a start-up called LO3 Energy is testing a similar system that allows neighbours to buy and sell energy on a microgrid.

在布魯克林，初創(chuàng)公司LO3 Energy正在測試一個類似的系統(tǒng)，該系統(tǒng)允許鄰里間在微型電網(wǎng)中購買和出售能源。

Such ideas could change lives in a way that compares with what mobile phones have done in the past decade, said Frank Rijsberman, director-general of the Global Green Growth Institute in Seoul.

位于首爾的全球綠色增長研究所(Global Green Growth Institute)的所長弗蘭克•里斯伯曼(Frank Rijsberman)表示，這樣的想法將像過去10年的手機那樣，給人們的生活方式帶來巨變。

“Mini-grid electricity based on solar and batteries is a revolution that can bring affordable energy to all citizens,” he said.

“以太陽能和電池為基礎的迷你電網(wǎng)電力是一場革命，將給所有居民帶來用得起的能源，”他說。

Another factor is that the prices of renewable energy now rival or, in some cases, beat fossil fuel-based power.

另外一個因素是，基于可再生能源的電力價格現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)可以媲美，甚至有時還優(yōu)于基于化石能源的電力價格。

“Renewable energy became the cheapest form of electricity in 58 emerging economies last year,” said Mr Rijsberman.

“去年，在58個新興經(jīng)濟體，可再生能源變成了最廉價的電力類型，”里斯伯曼說。