The world is adding renewable energy capacity at record speed. Solar farms are sprouting up in the deserts of Arizona, wind turbines are swirling along North Sea coastlines, and hydroelectric plants are being etched into European mountainsides. Billion-dollar green policy packages — including the US Inflation Reduction Act and the EU’s “REPowerEU” strategy — are propelling the boom. Global investment in renewable power last year surpassed $700bn, over double the amount in 2015. For all the progress, though, there is a major snag: too much of it is going to waste.
全球正在以创纪录的速度增加可再生能源的产能。太阳能发电场如雨后春笋般出现在亚利桑那州的沙漠中，风力涡轮机沿着北海海岸线旋转，水电站被蚀刻在欧洲的山坡上。耗资数十亿美元的一揽子绿色政策——包括美国的《降低通胀法》和欧盟的“REPowerEU”战略——推动了这一热潮。去年，全球可再生能源投资超过7000亿美元，是2015年的两倍多。尽管取得了这些进展，但仍存在一个重大障碍：太多的投资被浪费了。
Green energy generation is intermittent. Solar panels need sunny days. Wind turbines thrive on gusts. That means when they are generating electricity it is all the more important that it is fed into the grid for use, or stored away. Grid and storage capacity has, however, fallen behind the growth in renewable energy sources across the world, as a report from the International Energy Agency will reveal on Wednesday.
绿色能源发电是间歇性的。太阳能电池板需要晴天。风力涡轮机在阵风中才能运转良好。这意味着，当它们发电时，更重要的是将其输入电网使用或储存起来。然而，正如国际能源署周三发布的一份报告所显示的那样，电网和储能能力已经落后于全球可再生能源的增长。