Some growth stems from a commitment by governments and farsighted Businsses to fund cleaner energy sources. But increasingly the story is about the plummeting prices of renewables, especially wind and solar. The cost of solar panels has dropped by 80 percent and the cost of wind turbines by close to one-third in the past eight years.
增长当然和政府和有远见的为清洁能源提供资金的企业的共同努力有关。但更直接的原因是因为新能源价格的暴跌，尤其是风能和太阳能。在过去的八年中，太阳能电池板的成本下降了80%，风力涡轮机的成本下降了将近三分之一。
In many parts of the world renewable energy is already a principal energy source. In Scotland, for example, wind turbines provide enough electricity to power 95 percent of homes. While the rest of the world takes the lead, notably China and Europe, the United States is also seeing a remarkable shift. In March, for the first time, wind and solar power accounted for more than 10 percent of the power generated in the US, reported the US Energy Information Administration.
在世界的许多地方，可再生能源已经是能源来源的执牛耳者。比如在苏格兰，风力涡轮机能为95%的家庭提供充足的电力。同时，全球其他国家也处于领先地位，特别是在中国和欧洲。美国也有明显的转变。据美国能源信息管理局报道，在3月份，风能和太阳能发电量首次占比超过美国发电量的10%。
While fossil fuels — coal, oil, gas — still generate roughly 85 percent of the world’s energy supply, it’s clearer than ever that the future belongs to renewable sources such as wind and solar. The move to renewables is picking up momentum around the world: They now account for more than half of new power sources going on line.
尽管化石燃料——煤，石油，天然气——仍然占世界能源供应的85%左右，但显而易见，未来属于风能，太阳能等可再生资源。使用可再生能源的转变正在全球范围内加速发展：目前，可再生能源占据了正在使用的新能源的一半以上。
While there’s a long way to go, the trend lines for renewables are spiking. The pace of change in energy sources appears to be speeding up perhaps: just in time to have a meaningful effect in slowing climate change. What Washington does — or doesn’t do — to promote alternative energy may mean less and less at a time of a global shift in thought.
虽然还有很长的璐要走，但利用可再生能源已然是大势所趋。能源改变的步伐似乎正在加快——可能正好赶上对缓慢气候变化产生有意义的影响。在全球思想转变的时代，为了促进可替代能源，华盛顿政府做什么或不做什么变得越来越无关紧要。
The advance is driven in part by vehicle manufacturers, who are placing big bets on battery-powered electric vehicles. Although electric cars are still a rarity on roads now. this massive investment could change the picture rapidly in coming years.
这一进步部分是由汽车制造商推动的，他们对电池驱动的电动汽车押下大赌注。尽管电动汽车在路上还很少见，但是这笔巨额投资会在未来几年内迅速改变这一画面。
President Trump has underlined fossil fuels — especially coal — as the path to economic growth. In a recent speech in Iowa, he dismissed wind power as an unreliable energy source, But that message did not play well with many in Iowa, where wind turbines dot the fields and provide 36 percent of the state’s electricity generation — and where tech giants like Microsoft are being attracted by the availability of clean energy to power their data centers.
特朗普总统强调化石燃料——尤其是煤——是促进经济增长的动力。在爱荷华州最近的一次演讲中，他把风能视为不可靠的能源。但这个判断显然与爱荷华州的实际情况不符。爱荷华州的风力涡轮机星罗棋布，为该州提供了36%的发电量。在该州，像微软这样的科技巨头对清洁能源心向往之，因为它们可以促使其数据中心运转。
The question “what happens when the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine?” has provided a quick put-down for skeptics. But a boost in the storage apacity of batteries is making their ability to keep power flowing around the clock more likely.
反驳者们可能很快就会问：“当不刮风或太阳不发光时怎么办”？但是电池储存容量的提高正在使随时提供电力供应成为可能。
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