It is a model with which the country has begun to experiment (see map). In 2011 South Africa launched a renewable power programme that was widely acclaimed for using auctions to drive down the cost of power. It was set up at the urging of the Treasury, an island of competence in a swamp of corruption. These auctions led to $14bn in private capital investment and about 5,000MW of extra capacity.

這是一個國家已經(jīng)開始試驗的模式(見地圖)。2011年，南非啟動了一項可再生能源計劃，該計劃因利用拍賣（電力）降低電力成本而廣受好評。它是在財政部的敦促下成立的，財政部是腐敗泥沼中的一座尚能發(fā)揮一些作用的孤島。這些拍賣帶來了140億美元的私人資本投資和約5000兆瓦的額外產(chǎn)能。

詞匯

Auctions/拍賣

acclaimed /受到贊揚(yáng)的，歡呼

Treasury/ 國庫，金庫；財政部；寶庫

Swamp/沼澤；濕地

But in 2015 Eskom refused to sign agreements with independent power projects that had won the auctions. This was because Mr Zuma’s allies were trying to force through a ruinous deal he had struck with Vladimir Putin for Russian nuclear power stations. (Fortunately this venture was unsuccessful.) It was only last year that the stalled projects could go ahead. As part of this revival Scatec Solar is building three plants in Upington in the Northern Cape.

但在2015年，埃斯科姆公司拒絕與中標(biāo)的獨(dú)立電力項目簽署協(xié)議。這是因為祖馬的盟友正試圖強(qiáng)行通過他與弗拉基米爾?普京(Vladimir Putin)就俄羅斯核電站達(dá)成的一項破壞性協(xié)議。(幸運(yùn)的是，這次冒險沒有成功。)直到去年，停滯不前的工程才得以繼續(xù)。作為這一復(fù)興計劃的一部分，斯卡迪克太陽能公司正在北開普的厄平頓建造三座工廠。

More renewable energy will help the environment. Just three countries in the world get a higher share of their electricity from coal. Yet there is also a financial case for them. Wind and solar stations can go up quickly without straining Eskom’s balance-sheet. They also generate power more cheaply than that humming down the line from Eskom’s coal-fired power stations. Recent international auctions have priced renewable power at about 30 South African cents per kWh, versus more than 50 cents for Eskom’s existing coal plants. “South Africa should never build another coal station ever again, purely on the basis of economics,” argues Tobias Bischof-Niemz, a former Eskom engineer who is now a director at ENERTRAG SA, a renewables firm.

更多的可再生能源將有助于環(huán)境。世界上只有三個國家的大部分電力來自煤炭。然而，他們也有經(jīng)濟(jì)上的苦衷。風(fēng)力發(fā)電站和太陽能發(fā)電站可以在不增加埃斯科姆公司資產(chǎn)負(fù)債表壓力的情況下快速發(fā)展。它們的發(fā)電成本也比埃斯科姆公司的燃煤發(fā)電站低。最近的國際拍賣將可再生能源的價格定在每千瓦時30美分左右，而埃斯科姆公司現(xiàn)有的燃煤電廠每千瓦時的價格超過50美分。前埃斯科姆公司工程師、現(xiàn)任ENERTRAG SA(一家可再生能源公司)董事的Tobias Bischof-Niemz說:“僅從經(jīng)濟(jì)考慮，南非就不應(yīng)該再建一個煤炭站了?！?/p>

詞匯

Straining/拉緊；竭盡…的全力；使…損壞

Whether it will depends on the government’s long-delayed Integrated Resources Plan, due to be published after the election. It ought to lay out how South Africa will make two transitions: from coal to renewables; and from a monopoly to a market-based system. Vested interests in Eskom and mining unions will resist both. Assuming Mr Ramaphosa wins on May 8th, he will have to face them down. If he fails, the future will be dark, for him and for South Africa.

但是否建立可再生能源發(fā)電站，將取決于政府拖延已久的綜合資源計劃，該計劃將于大選后公布。它應(yīng)該闡明南非將如何實現(xiàn)兩個轉(zhuǎn)變:從煤炭到可再生能源;從壟斷到市場體系。埃斯科姆公司和礦業(yè)工會的既得利益者將抵制這兩項提議。假設(shè)拉馬福薩在5月8日獲勝，他必須直面他們（上面的那些既得利益者）。如果他失敗了，他和南非的未來將是黑暗的。

詞匯

Monopoly/ ?壟斷；壟斷者；專賣權(quán)

vested interests/既得利益；特權(quán)階級