VOA慢速英语：太阳能助力印尼人民多办事儿

On Indonesia's eastern island of Sumba, solar power is providing people with electricity. Having electric lights can mean many things. It can mean being able to work later in the evenings, making more money and having more social gatherings.

在印尼东部的松巴岛，太阳能为人们提供电力。拥有电灯意味着很多事情。它可以意味着晚上能够工作更长时间，赚更多的钱并举办更多的社交聚会。

Before electricity came to the village of Laindeha almost two years ago, the day ended when the sun went down.

大约两年前，在兰德哈村通电之前，太阳落山时，一天就结束了。

A few families who could pay for them would start loud generators, which release smoke. Some people connected lights to old car batteries, which would quickly run out or ruin appliances. Children sometimes studied by oil lamps, but these sometimes burned down homes when knocked over by the wind.

有几个付得起钱的家庭会启动噪音很大的发电机，它们会释放出烟雾。一些人将灯连接到旧汽车电池上，这些电池很快就会耗尽或损坏电器。孩子们有时在油灯下学习，但油灯有时会被风吹倒，烧毁房屋。

Then social organizations brought small, solar panel systems to Laindeha and other villages on the island.

随后，社会组织将小型太阳能电池板系统带到了兰德哈和岛上的其他村庄。

For Tamar Ana Jawa, it means much-needed extra money.

对塔玛尔·安娜·贾瓦来说，这意味着急需的额外收入。

It used to be dark at night, now it's bright until morning, the 30-year-old mother of two said. "So tonight, I work...to pay for the children."

这位30岁的两个孩子的母亲说:“以前晚上很黑，现在一直到早上都很亮。”“所以今晚，我会工作……为了支付孩子们的费用。”

Around the world, hundreds of millions of people live in communities without regular electricity. In Sumba, off-grid solar energy equipment is bringing people limited electricity years before normal power systems reach them.

在世界各地，数亿人生活在没有正常电力供应的社区。在松巴岛，正常的电力系统接入前的几年，离网太阳能设备为人们提供了有限的电力。

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says 775 million people around the world lacked electricity service in 2022. The IEA says Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are home to some of the largest populations without electricity. The United Nations and World Bank said in a 2021 report that not having electricity at home keeps people poor. People without power struggle to work in the modern economy, the report said.

国际能源署(IEA)表示，2022年，全球有7.75亿人缺乏电力服务。国际能源署表示，撒哈拉以南非洲和南亚是无电人口最多的地区。联合国和世界银行在2021年的一份报告中表示，家里没有电会让人们陷入贫困。报告称，没有电力的人在现代经济中很难工作。

Indonesia has brought electricity to millions of people in recent years. The World Bank says that, between 2005 and 2020, the country has increased the percentage of people with electricity from 85 to 97 percent. But there are still more than half a million people in Indonesia living without electricity service.

近年来，印尼为数百万人提供了电力。世界银行表示，从2005年到2020年，该国的电力普及率从85%提高到97%。但印尼仍有50多万人生活在没有电力供应的环境中。

There are experts who say off-grid solar programs could be reproduced across the large nation of thousands of islands. They note the energy is renewable.

有专家表示，离网太阳能项目可以在这个由数千个岛屿组成的大国复制。他们指出，这种能源是可再生的。

Now, villagers often gather in the evening to continue the day's work. They also gather to watch television shows on cellphones that are recharged by solar panels and that help children do schoolwork by providing light.

现在，村民们经常在晚上聚集在一起继续一天的工作。他们还聚在一起用太阳能电池板充电的手机看电视节目，并用光线帮助孩子们做功课。

But solar power is still rare in Indonesia. The country wants more solar energy to meet its climate goals. But there has been limited progress. This is because households that are not already connected to a power grid cannot sell electricity back to the company that supervises the power grid.

但太阳能在印尼仍然很少见。该国希望增加太阳能来实现其气候目标。但进展有限。这是因为没有接入电网的家庭不能将电力卖给监管电网的公司。

Sumba Sustainable Solutions, based in eastern Sumba, aims to increase solar use.

位于松巴东部的“松巴可持续解决方案”旨在增加太阳能的使用。

Working with international donors, it provides imported home solar systems. The systems can power light bulbs and charge cellphones. The company says on its website that it provides the equipment for monthly payments equal to $3.50 for three years.

它与国际捐助者合作，提供进口家用太阳能系统。这些系统可以为灯泡提供电力并给手机充电。该公司在其网站上表示，它以每月3.5美元的价格提供设备，为期三年。

The organization also offers solar-powered appliances like wireless lamps and grinding machines. It said it has sent over 3,020 solar light systems and 62 grinding machines across the island, reaching more than 3,000 homes.

该组织还提供无线灯和磨床等太阳能电器。该公司表示，已在全岛安装了3020多套太阳能照明系统和62台磨床，覆盖了3000多户家庭。

Similar programs exist in places like Bangladesh and Africa south of the Sahara Desert. The World Bank says these programs help provide electricity for millions.

类似的项目也存在于孟加拉国和撒哈拉沙漠以南的非洲等地。世界银行表示，这些项目有助于为数百万人提供电力。

But off-grid solar energy systems like these do not provide the same amount of power as a grid. While cellphones and lights can be charged, the systems do not create enough power to operate devices like a sound system for a church.

但像这样的离网太阳能系统提供的电力不足以与电力网相比。虽然可以给手机和灯充电，但这些系统没有足够的电力来驱动像教堂音响系统这样的设备。

Off-grid solar projects face problems too, Jetty Arlenda said. He is an engineer with Sumba Sustainable Solutions. The company depends on donors to pay most of the cost of the equipment because villagers could not pay the high cost of the solar equipment at market prices. Villagers without off-grid solar panels continue to wait while Sumba Sustainable Solutions looks for more money from donors.

离网太阳能项目也面临着问题，松巴可持续解决方案公司的工程师杰特·阿伦达说。该公司依靠捐助者支付设备的大部分成本，因为村民无法以市场价格支付太阳能设备的高昂成本。没有离网太阳能电池板的村民继续等待，而松巴可持续解决方案公司正在寻求捐助者的更多资金。

The company wants support from Indonesia's $20 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership deal. The deal, signed last year, involves loans and other money from developed nations and international financial companies.

该公司希望得到印尼200亿美元的能源转型合作伙伴协议的支持。该协议于去年签署，涉及发达国家和国际金融公司的贷款和其他资金。

There have been problems with villagers failing to make payments. And when solar systems break, they need imported parts that can be hard to find or costly.

村民没有付款的问题一直存在。当太阳能系统出现故障时，它们需要进口部件，而这些部件很难找到或价格昂贵。

But for now, villagers like Jawa said the solar systems are making a big difference.

但就目前而言，像贾瓦这样的村民说，太阳能系统正在产生巨大的影响。

I'm Dan Novak.

我是丹·诺瓦克。

And I'm Anna Matteo.

我是安娜·马特奥。