经济学人商业||美国海上风力发电场终迎新机
1
导读
4分钟告诉你如何建造海上风电场
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2
听力|精读|翻译|词组
Renewable energy
可再生能源
英文部分选自经济学人20190309期中Business版块
Renewable energy
可再生能源
Gust of change
新风阵阵
NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS
新贝德福德城，马萨诸塞州
Companies bet big that offshore wind farms in America will at last start turning
能源公司们押宝美国海上风力发电场终迎新机
The future of clean energy depends on meetings like the one held at a small hotel in a small city in Massachusetts last month. Residents of New Bedford came together to voice their opinions about an offshore wind proposal from a company called Vineyard Wind. To date, such projects have not fared well in America; opponents have blocked big offshore wind farms. But opposition has dwindled. Though lobstermen fretted about local crustacea, supporters of the project in New Bedford touted the new jobs that would be on offer. Bureaucrats overseeing the plan offered heart-shaped chocolates at the sign-in table. If Vineyard Wind secures the necessary approvals, the project would be, astonishingly, America’s first large offshore wind farm. Construction could begin by the end of the year.
After nearly two decades of fighting, the wind industry is poised to sweep into American waters. In February a number of European energy giants, including Royal Dutch Shell, EDF, Equinor and Orsted, bid to build New York’s first offshore wind project, with a decision due this spring. Other plans are moving forward, from Virginia to New Hampshire. In total, states have sanctioned nearly 17,000 megawatts of offshore wind power. This increase is almost as large as Europe’s entire offshore wind market. Yet America remains perilous for wind developers, not just because of lingering opposition, but owing to a lack of a local supply chain to help with turbine construction. Ports seem inadequate to handle all the work. For global energy firms these are big risks, but they could be more than offset by the potential rewards.
历经近20年的奋斗，海上风电蓄势以待，准备横扫美国海域。今年2月，荷兰皇家壳牌(Royal Dutch Shell)、法国电力集团(EDF)、挪威国家石油公司（Equinor）以及丹麦沃旭能源(Orsted)等多家欧洲能源巨头参加了纽约州首个海上风电项目的竞标，其结果将于今年春季公布。从新罕布什尔州到弗吉尼亚州，其他计划也正在向前推进。美国各州总共已经正式批准了近17000兆瓦的海上风力发电项目。美国市场的增幅几乎与整个欧洲海上风电市场的规模相当。但对于风电场发电商来说，美国市场依旧危机四伏，不仅反对的声音依旧挥之不去，而且美国缺少本地的供应链去支持涡轮机的建设，港口本身似乎也不足以应对所有事情（具体看注释）。对于全球能源公司来说，这些都是巨大的风险，但也可能会被潜在的收益所抵消。
注：
1.be poised to : ready to do something; in the right position to do something.
be poised to是做某事前就做了准备了,心里和物质上都准备了
be ready to是做某事前没做过事先的准备,只有心里上准备好了
2.美国海上风电价格高的原因 北极星相关链接：http://news.bjx.com.cn/html/20180824/923195.shtml
高昂的电价源于成本。主要原因包括：
1）设备技术要求程度高。美国海岸线长，太平洋海岸和北大西洋海岸水域深，对设备技术难度要求较高，南大西洋和墨西哥湾风暴频现，对设备坚固程度要求较高；
2）供应链匮乏。美国海风装机供应链部件的缺乏，如风机、重型升降平台、安装运输船舶等，提高了装机成本；
3）基建设施缺乏。美国风电项目发展历史短，基础设施建设还不完善。
相关问题的解决决定了美国海上风电市场能否复制欧洲的降成本之路。
More than 4,000 wind turbines already twirl off the coasts of Europe. In America, just five short turbines poke out of the waves near Rhode Island, despite the north-east’s shallow waters, high wind speeds and millions of energy-hungry consumers. America’s most famous offshore wind project remains one never built. Cape Wind, proposed in 2001, spent 16 years battling fishermen and rich landowners, including the Kennedy family, whose concern over climate change did not dull their desire for an unspoilt view. Faced with such headaches, wind developers invested in Europe or sought firm ground in America’s Midwest, home to big gusts and residents accustomed to using land for both pleasure and purpose.
欧洲海岸线上，已有四千多台风机投入运作。相比之下，尽管美国东北部水域较浅、风速较快，并且有数百万能源需求旺盛的消费者，但仅有罗德岛（Rhode Island）附近五台小型风机（装有5台小型涡轮机、可产生30兆瓦的电力）在运作。美国最著名的海上风电项目“海角风力发电”至今尚未开工。该项目自2001年被提议至今，16年来开发商一直无法与渔民以及肯尼迪（Kennedy）家族等富有的岛主谈妥。这些岛主虽然也关心全球气候变化，但相比之下，却更加重视一览无遗的开阔视野。面对这一僵局，开发商们将目光转向欧洲或是美国中西部地区，因为这些地方不仅是劲风之源，而且居民更是惯于将土地兼用于娱乐和其他实务功能。
注：
1.Rhode Island：2016年在罗德岛海岸投入运营的Block Island风电场
葡园之风（Vineyard Wind）最引人注目的不是它的规模或范围，也不是它为美国的第一个大型海上风电场，而是葡园之风（Vineyard Wind）针对其风电场所发的电同意收取的电价为每千瓦时7.4美分。在该项目的第二阶段，价格将下降至仅6.5美分，使其可与煤炭和天然气相竞争，但它没有碳排放。相比之下，2016年在罗德岛海岸投入运营的Block Island风电场（装有5台小型涡轮机、可产生30兆瓦的电力）的电价为每千瓦时24.4美分。
Cape wind：“海角风力发电”项目长期以来处于困境之中。十年来，马萨诸塞州海角地区的居民、印第安部落、政治家与该项目开发商的斗争持续不断。具体链接：https://www.jxcad.com.cn/thread-1098210-1-253.html
说到此类冲突，小编建议大家去看看美剧《黄石》，故事发生在美国蒙大拿州，主要讲述凯文·科斯特纳扮演的牧场主约翰·达顿和土地开放商丹以及印第安原住民三者之间围绕黄石公园旁边的牧场之争。简单一句话：土地问题而引发的血案！后台回复”黄石“可获得链接。
On firm ground
脚踏实地
Among the things that have changed is technology. Operators are now able to build bigger turbines that can be sited farther from shore. And because turbines have become so large and powerful, firms need to install fewer of them to generate the same amount of electricity, which lowers development costs. Vineyard Wind plans to supply electricity to Massachusetts at 6.5 cents per kilowatt hour, which—though helped by a generous federal tax credit—is about the same price as electricity from German offshore wind farms.
State policies are boosting the industry, too. North-eastern governors are keen to burnish their green credentials to voters concerned about climate change, but the region has little room for big solar or wind farms on land. Massachusetts passed a law in 2016 requiring state utilities to procure about 1,600 megawatts in offshore wind power over the next decade, provided they receive reasonable bids. Other governors in the north-east have followed suit, becoming more bullish after Vineyard Wind’s announcement of low electricity prices. So far, President Donald Trump’s administration has been supportive.
The result is a frenzy. When, in 2015, the government auctioned a site off the Massachusetts coast, the winning bid was $281,285—“a very clear indicator of a market that was basically dead”, says Thomas Brostrom, who leads the North American business for Orsted, a Danish energy firm. In the latest auction in Massachusetts, in December, each lease sold for over 400 times that sum. European developers are battling it out, some adopting all-American names. In Massachusetts, for instance, Orsted’s subsidiary is Bay State Wind; Vineyard Wind is a partnership of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and a subsidiary of Spain’s Iberdrola, and Mayflower Wind is a joint venture between Shell and EDP Renewables, whose headquarters are in Madrid. Enbw, a German utility, is bidding along the east coast but is also eyeing waters off California (where the steep continental shelf will need floating turbines that have yet to be deployed at scale).
风电投资狂潮随之而起。2015，美国政府以281,285美元的成交价拍卖出麻省一块海域。对此价格，丹麦沃旭能源北美区负责人托马斯·布罗斯特罗姆 (Thomas Brostrom)表示，“很显然，美国新能源市场前景黯淡”。然而，去年12月在麻省最近一次的拍卖会上，每片海域的租金都以超过之前400倍的价格成交。欧洲开发商都在奋力争取租赁区，有的甚至为此采用全美式命名。以麻省为例，Bay State Wind是沃旭能源（Orsted）的子公司; 葡园之风是哥本哈根基础设施公司（CIP）与西班牙电力公司Iberdrola的子公司共同合作的公司；五月花风力（Mayflower Wind）是壳牌与EDPR的合资企业，其总部设在西班牙马德里。德国公共事业电力公司Enbw不仅参与了美国东海岸风电海域的竞标，而且也盯着加州离岸海域（加州陆架陡峭，需要尚未被大规模运用的漂浮式的风力发电机）。
注：
1.今年5月，800兆瓦的Vineyard海上风电项目通过竞标选中。该项目是美国第一个商业规模海上风电项目，由西班牙电力公司Iberdrola旗下Avangrid可再生能源公司和哥本哈根基础设施公司共同开发，计划于2019年开始建设并于2021年投入运营。
https://www.huanbao-world.com/a/zixun/2018/0920/44126.html
2.美国三块海上风电用海租金收入超4亿美元
12月17日，美国马萨诸塞州三块海上风电海域租赁招标结果公布，Equinor（前挪威国家石油公司）、Mayflower Wind Energy（壳牌和EDPR的合资企业）和Vineyard Wind公司（Iberdrola在美子公司）最终胜出，这三家将获得30年的特许经营权，并支付总额为4.051亿美元的租海费，开发总量达410万千瓦。
每片海域租金费为1.35亿美元，远远超过Equinor在2016年12月纽约州海上风电拍卖会上的4250万美元拍卖纪录。这次竞拍也创纪录的吸引了全球11家海上风电开发商参与。可以说，美国的海上风电用海租赁竞拍模式为政府带来了巨额的财政收入，开创了全球海上风电竞拍的新模式！
3.沃旭能源（丹麦语：Ørsted A/S），原名丹能（丹麦语：DONG Energy A/S）， 沃旭能源总部位于丹麦，前身为 DONG Energy(丹麦石油与天然气公司)，2017年改名为“沃旭”(Ørsted)。以股票代号“Orsted”于哥本哈根证券交易所挂牌上市， 2017年营收达到2,844亿新台币（595亿丹麦克朗）。
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B2%83%E6%97%AD%E8%83%BD%E6%BA%90
Despite enthusiastic governors, companies must still secure leases and contracts to sell electricity to utilities. Orsted, for one project, anticipates needing more than 20 permits and approvals from federal, state and local agencies. It has spent $510m to acquire Deep water Wind, one of the few American offshore developers, in part to help it deal with complex regulations.
Even if firms manage all that, other factors threaten to push up costs. The region has no big turbine manufacturers, so firms must pay to transport parts from Europe. A 99-year-old law means that they cannot use European ships that are specially designed to install turbines. No such American ship yet exists. There are insufficient ports to handle the heavy components needed for turbines. And an investment tax credit for wind is due to expire in 2020. States are rushing to hold auctions this year, but inevitably many projects will come too late to use the credit. That may lift the price of electricity from wind projects.
Wood Mackenzie, a consultancy, expects growth in offshore wind to subside after the tax credit expires, then pick up again in the mid-2020s as technology advances and factories open in America. States are vying to support the industry’s future growth. “My goal is to make Massachusetts the Denmark of North American wind,” says Stephen Pike, who leads the state’s efforts to promote a green economy.
能源咨询顾问公司伍德·麦肯兹（Wood Mackenzie）预测：税收减免政策终止之后，海上风力发电项目的增速将会放缓；至本世纪20年代中期，随着技术的发展和美国境内相关工厂的开工，增速会再次抬头。各州也在竞相支持该行业的未来增长。 “我的目标是将麻省打造成为北美风力发电界的丹麦。” 斯蒂芬·派克（Stephen Pike）说道。他领导并推动麻省朝着绿色经济的方向拓进。
In the meantime, Vineyard Wind is advancing its project, step by step. In January the company signed an agreement with the Natural Resources Defense Council, promising, among other things, to time construction to avoid disturbing the endangered North Atlantic right whale. It recently hammered out a deal with fishermen in Rhode Island, who remain concerned about the turbines’ effect. Lars Pedersen, chief executive of Vineyard Wind,remains optimistic. “It’s a challenging regulatory system, it’s litigious and so on, but if you can deliver jobs and clean energy at an affordable price,” he says, “I believe this is a huge opportunity.”
与此同时，葡园之风正在逐步推进其项目。一月份公司与自然资源保护协会签署了一份协议，承诺定时施工以避免打扰 濒临灭绝的北大西洋露脊鲸。罗德岛渔民们对海上的涡轮机有所担心，该公司近期也正与他们反复商讨应对之策。葡园之风的CEO拉尔斯·彼德森（Lars Pedersen）对此依然保持乐观。他表示，“虽然风电产业对现行的监管制度是一种挑战，很容易引发诉讼，但是如果能够带来工作岗位，提供价格合理的清洁能源，我相信这是一次巨大的机会。”
翻译组：
Anna, 女， 自由职业， Catti三笔
Hikali，女，商科在读，英语日语死忠粉
VeRy，男，电气民工，经济学人资浅爱好者
Lili, 女，近日欣赏的一句话：人生除了死，其他都是擦伤。
校核组：
Li Xia, 女， 爱爬山的健身小白， 美食狂人
Forest，女，自由职业，保持与自己的距离
veryyang，女，教育民工，主攻双语演讲和戏剧
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观点|评论|思考
本次观点由Joyce独家奉献
Joyce，女，法律在读，读不懂感觉懂了
风能=随风而去？
相比石油和天然气，风能作为可再生能源的道路一直都是道阻且长。有着可再生能源的名衔，公众对于风能的确给予厚望，但从政策、预算、公民预期等等，每一步都是如履薄冰，稍有不慎，风能只能随风而去。
能源政策一直都是特朗普执政的优先事项之一，但与奥巴马反化石能源不同，特朗普迄今为止所发布的能源举措都是为了石油和天然气的开发和利用。同时，对新能源充满敌意：退出巴黎协定，大幅度削减环保署的预算，否认化石燃料是影响气候变化的原因。以及繁杂的行政手续，让投资者对风能的开发望而却步。
即使有投资者挣脱了各种条条框框的束缚，高额的成本又一次让他们对前景充满担忧。发电机零件的购买，运输所带来的成本，这让本就在低廉的石油和天然气的两面夹击下风雨飘渺的风能的造价节节攀升。如果没有大力的财政支撑，风能项目根本难以启动。再加上，各州海岸的人民对于发电机破坏生态系统的声音愈演愈烈，使得风能项目濒临破产。
但美国丰富的风电资源，以及各州官员抛出的橄榄枝，大批跨国资本的投入，可能会使得风能摆脱以往停滞不前的状态，真正地随风飘扬。
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愿景
小组