137年来，英国可再生能源电力首次超过了化石燃料

137年来，英国可再生能源电力首次超过了化石燃料

We've just hit another major milestone in the shift towards renewables: in the third quarter of 2019, the UK generated more electricity from renewable sources than it did from fossil fuel power stations, an industry report says.

一份行业报告称，在向可再生能源的转变中，我们刚刚达到另一个重要里程碑:2019年第三季度，英国可再生能源发电量超过化石燃料发电站。

If confirmed, that means the combined energy produced from wind farms, solar panels, biomass and hydropower plants (29.5 terawatt hours) exceeded the amount of energy produced from coal, oil, and gas (29.1 terawatt hours).

如果得到证实，这意味着风电场、太阳能电池板、生物质能和水力发电站(29.5太瓦小时)产生的总能量超过了煤、石油和天然气(29.1太瓦小时)产生的总能量。

While the data needs to be independently verified, let's hope it signals a tipping point for the future of the country's energy production – this is something that hasn't happened since the UK's first public electricity generating power station opened in 1882.

虽然数据需要独立核实，但我们希望它标志着英国未来能源生产的一个转折点——这是自1882年英国首座公共发电厂建成以来从未发生过的事情。

Across July, August and September, renewable energy production accounted for 40 percent of the UK's electricity, with fossil fuels (mostly gas) just behind at 39 percent. Of the remaining 21 percent, the majority came from nuclear power stations.

7月、8月和9月，可再生能源生产占英国电力的40%，化石燃料(主要是天然气)紧随其后，占39%。剩下的21%中，大多数来自核电站。

According to Carbon Brief, fossil fuels may edge out renewables over 2019 as a whole when all the statistics are in, but it's a note of hope for the future. New wind farms coming online are the main reason for the bump in renewable energy production since June.

根据碳简报(carbon brief)，当所有的统计数据都出来时，化石燃料可能会在2019年整体上淘汰可再生能源，但这是对未来的希望。新的风力发电场上线是6月份以来可再生能源产量激增的主要原因。

Less than 10 years ago, the fossil fuel contribution to the UK electricity market was around four-fifths, but the situation is quickly changing. Back in May, the country went six days without burning any coal at all – and indeed coal-powered plants are due to be phased out completely by 2025.

不到10年前，化石燃料对英国电力市场的贡献约为五分之四，但情况正在迅速改变。早在五月份，英国就已经六天没有烧煤了，事实上，燃煤发电厂将在2025年完全淘汰。

However, there is a caveat worth flagging: 12 percent of that renewable energy came from burning biomass and wood pellets, which don't meet the strictest definition of renewables – regrowing forests to suck up the carbon dioxide produced can take some time.

然而，有一个值得注意的问题：12%的可再生能源来自燃烧生物质和木质颗粒，这不符合可再生能源的最严格的定义——再生森林来吸收产生的二氧化碳需要一些时间。

Nevertheless, it's encouraging to see that the country that kicked off the Industrial Revolution is now helping to lead the way towards a renewable future – because of the UK's size it's not going to make the biggest difference to CO2 levels overall, but let's hope the more populous nations continue to follow suit.

然而，令人鼓舞的是，这个开启了工业革命的国家现在正帮助引领一条通向可再生未来的道路——因为英国的规模，它不会对整体二氧化碳水平产生最大的影响，但让我们希望人口更多的国家继续效仿。