迈向低碳经济市政融资和能源效率外文翻译.docx

迈向低碳经济市政融资和能源效率外文翻译.docx

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迈向低碳经济市政融资和能源效率外文翻译

外文题目：

TowardaLow-CarbonEconomy---MunicipalFinancing

ForEnergyEfficiencyandSolarPower

出处：

EnvironmentMagazine

作者：

MerrianC.Fuller,StephenCompagniPortis,and

DanielM.Kammen

Theeconomicandenvironmentalneedtotransitiontoalow-carboneconomyisnowattheforefrontofenergyscience,engineering,andpolicydiscussionsintheUnitedStatesandinternationally.FormerVicePresidentAlGorehascalledforacarbon-freeelectricitysupplyintheUnitedStatesby2018,1andinCalifornia,Japan,andtheUnitedKingdom,agrowinglistofmunicipalitieshavelegislated70–80percentorhigherreductionsintheirgreenhousegasemissionsoverthenextfourtofivedecades.ThesecutsareconsistentwiththerecommendationsoftheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange（IPCC）.Thusfarmuchoftheefforthasbeenfocusedontechnologyandpolicysolutions,withverylittleattentiongiventohowthischangecanbeenabledthroughcreativefinancing.

Acriticalarenaforthistransformationisinbuildings,whichaccountformorethan70percentoftheelectricityuse2andalmost40percentofgreenhousegasemissions3intheUnitedStates.Manyofthemorestringentlawstoreduceenergyuseinbuildings,suchasTitle24inCalifornia,4targetnewbuildings.However,becausebuildingshavemany-decadelifetimes,itmaybevirtuallyimpossibletoreducegreenhousegasemissionstothelevelsdescribedbythelower-riskscenariosoftheIPCC5andadoptedbylocalmunicipalities,6states,7andnations8withoutatargetedefforttoreduceenergydemandinexistinghomesandcommercialspaces.Thismeansthatretrofitefforts,suchasimprovingenergyefficiencyandaddingsolarphotovoltaics（PV）andsolarthermalsystemstobuildings,needtoexpanddramatically.

Manybarriersexisttoreducingenergyconsumptionandincreasingtheuseofrenewableenergy.Oneishighfirstcost（“up-frontcost”）,whichisbothapsychologicalandfinancialbarrierformanypeople.OurresearchgroupfromtheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley,hasworkedwithanumberofcities,initiallyBerkeleytoaddressthisbarrierbymakingfinancingforsolarpowerinstallationsandenergy-efficiencyretrofitsmoreappealingandaccessibletopropertyowners.Urgencyaroundtheneedtocutemissionshasinspiredcitiestoapplyoldtools,suchasmunicipalfinancing,tothenewproblemofreducingtheamountofcarbonintheenergysupply.

CleanenergymunicipalfinancingmechanismsliketheCityofBerkeley’sprogramBerkeleyFIRST（FinancingInitiativeforRenewableandSolarTechnology）havethepotentialtohelpcatalyzethetransitiontoamoresustainableuseofenergyandalsodeliverbenefitsbeyondemissionsreductions,includinganewsourceofjobgrowth,reducedstrainontheelectricpowersystem,andmorecomfortableandwell-maintainedbuildings.Howdotheseinitiativeswork,andwhatmightthefinancialimpactbeonparticipantsatthestateandnationallevels.

BarrierstoReducingEnergyDemand

Overthelast30years,acontentiousdebatehascontinuedoverwhyconsumersandbusinesseschooseorforegoenergyefficientproductsandpractices,andwhatrolepublicandenablingprograms（financingandother）shouldplayininfluencingthesedecisions.Researchershaveoftentriedtoexplainconsumerefficiencyrelateddecisionsusingalife-cyclecostanalysis,whichlooksattheup-frontcostsofadoptionversustheenergysavingsovertime.Manypublicpolicyeffortsstartwiththepremisethatregulationsshouldonlypromoteoptionsthatgiveconsumersapositivenetpresentvalueforthelife-cyclecost,usingadiscountrateforfuturesavingsof5–8percent.Thenetpresentvalueisthefuturediscountedbenefitsminustheinitialinvestment.Appliancestandardswerecreatedusingthisframeworkwiththeintentionofremovingtheleast-efficientappliancesfromthemarketwhilekeepingthefinancialburdentoaminimum.Thedifferencebetweenamarketrateofreturnandtheimplicitdiscountratesobservedinconsumerchoicewaslabeledthe“energy-efficiencygap,”andmuchefforthasbeendevotedtoclosingthisgapthroughincentivesandpoliciestoaddressperceivedbarriers.thesesamebarriersalsoaffectthedecisiontoinstallsolarpowersystems.

CleanEnergyMunicipalFinancing

BerkeleyFIRSTisanexampleofcleanenergymunicipalfinancingindevelopmentbytheCityofBerkeleythatwillprovidetheup-frontfundsforresidentialandcommercialpropertyownerstoinstallelectricandthermalsolarsystemsandmakeenergy-efficiencyimprovementstotheirbuildings.Berkeleyhascommittedtoprovidefundingfortheprogramthroughtheissuanceofaspecialtaxbondthatisrepaidsemi-annuallyover20yearsthroughspecialtaxescollectedononlythepropertytaxbillsofparticipatingpropertyowners.ThefinancingmechanismisbasedonCalifornia’sMello-Roosfinancinglawanddoesnotrequireacitysubsidyorexposuretothecity’sgeneralfund.14Asofsummer2008,thecityhadreceivedmorethan1,300inquiriesfrommunicipalitiesaroundtheworldaskinghowthisprogramwillbeimplemented.

Toparticipateinacleanenergymunicipalfinancingprogram,aresidentialorcommercialpropertyownerselectsacontractorandidentifiestheirchoiceofsolarandenergy-efficiencyupgradesthatfitwithinthescopeoftheprogram,asdefinedbythemunicipality.AprojectmightincludeasolarPVarrayorasolarthermalsystemandimprovementstotheenergyefficiencyofabuilding,suchasaddinginsulationandnewducts,sealingbuildingshellleaks,andreplacingafurnaceorairconditioningunit.Improvementstoaresidentialpropertycouldcost$4,000–$20,000ormore.Thepropertyownersubmitsanapplicationtothemunicipality,whosestaffreviewsthescopeofworkandchecksthattheyhaveaclearpropertytitle.Afterthemunicipalityapprovestheapplication,theworkiscompleted,alienisplacedontheproperty,andacheckisissuedtothepropertyowner.Aspecialtaxisaddedtofuturepropertybills.Ifthepropertyissoldbeforetheendofthe20-yearrepaymentperiod,thenewownerpaystheremainingspecialtaxesaspartoftheirproperty’sannualtaxbill.Theinterestcomponentofthespecialtaxpaymentswillbetaxdeductible,similartoahomeequitylineorhomemortgage.Thespecialtaxbondisbackedbytheliensonparticipatingpropertyowners’homes.

Thisprogramhasthepotentialtobeimplementedinmunicipalitiesacrossthecountry.Lawsinmanystatesalreadyenableasimilarfinancingmechanism,andotherstatesarepursuinglegislationtoenabletheuseofcleanenergymunicipalfinancing.Forexample,StateHouseBill08-1350,passedbytheColoradolegislatureandsignedintolawin2008,allowslocalgovernmentstofinanceimprovementswitharepaymentover20yearsthroughspecialassessmentscollectedthroughthepropertytaxsystem.Thislawallowslocalgovernmentstoproactivelyprovideamechanismforpropertyownerstodecreasetheiruseoffossilfuelsforheatingandelectricity,providingapublicbenefit.InNovember2008,BoulderusedthisauthoritytopassMeasure1A,whichallowsthecountytoissueupto$40millioninspecialassessmentbondstofinancecleanenergyimprovements.SimilarlegislationhasbeenenactedinCaliforniaandisproposedinotherstates.Theseearlyprogramshavebeenimplementedthroughcity,county,andstate-levelinitiatives;thefederalgovernmentcouldsupportsuchprogramsbyprovidingcapitalorbyassistingmunicipalitiesinaggregatingbondssothatlargerbondscanbeissuedatalowercost.

FinancialModelingAnalysis

Toassesstheimpactofcleanenergymunicipalfinancingonresidentialcustomers,ourresearchteamattheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley,createdamodeltocomparethenetpresentvalueofannualcashflowsover25yearsforasystemlikeBerkeleyFIRSTusingan“average”CaliforniahomeandthreeU.S.caseswithhigh,low,andaverageenergyprices.SeeTable1formodelassumptions.

Table1Modelassumptions

Financing

terms

Interestrateof7percentwithatermof20years.

Energy

consumption

FortheCaliforniacase,consumptionnumbersarebasedon2006EnergyInformationAdministration（EIA）figures,anannualconsumptionof7,080kilowatthours（kWh）,and476thermsofnaturalgasperhome.The2kWsystemusedinthismodelcoversapproximately40percentofthehome’selectricityuse.FortheU.S.cases,consumptionnumbersarebasedon2006EIAfigures,anannualconsumptionof11,035kWhand678thermsofnaturalgasperhome.The2kWsystemusedinthismodelcoversapproximately25percentofthehome’selectricityuse.AlthoughsomeU.S.homesuseheatingoil,wood,orelectricityforheating,naturalgasuseisassumedbecausethemajorityofU.S.homesuseit.

Futureenergy

prices

ThebasecaseusestheEIAAnnualEnergyOutlook2008forecast,whichpredictsflatrealpricesforelectricityandgasthrough2030andanaveragerateofinflationof2percent.Inaddition,casesaremodeledwithannual2percentand4percentrealincreasesinenergyprices.

Electricity

prices

TheCaliforniacaseelectricitypricesarebasedonthePacificGas&Electric（PG&E）residentialE1tariffschedule,withratesfrom11centsperkWhintier1to36centsintier5withincreasingusage.FortheU.S.cases,flatratesof16centsperkWhforthehighpricecasearebasedon2006EIAdatafortheNewEnglandregion,10.4centsfortheaveragecasearebasedon2006EIAaveragedata,and8.1centsforthelowpricecasearebasedon2006EIAdatafortheWestNorthCentralRegion.

Gasprices

TheCaliforniacasegaspricesarebasedonthePG&Eresidentialratesof$1.34to$1.57perthermwithincreasingus