????太陽(yáng)能的一大缺陷,，也是比較明顯的一個(gè)缺陷就是，沒(méi)太陽(yáng)的時(shí)候不能發(fā)電?，F(xiàn)在,，特斯拉（Tesla）、比亞迪（BYD）和博世（Bosch）等多家公司都推出了新一代鋰離子蓄電系統(tǒng),。它類(lèi)似于電動(dòng)汽車(chē)蓄電池，只不過(guò)儲(chǔ)備的是住宅太陽(yáng)能系統(tǒng)發(fā)的電,。它就相當(dāng)于在你家里放一塊大電池,，然后把你家屋頂太陽(yáng)能系統(tǒng)發(fā)的電存儲(chǔ)在里面,，以備雨天之用。

????這種系統(tǒng)的優(yōu)點(diǎn)是停電時(shí)它能為你家的照明和家電提供1-2天的電力,。你還可以在用電的時(shí)候進(jìn)行控制,。實(shí)行浮動(dòng)電價(jià)的地區(qū)，也就是說(shuō)峰值時(shí)段電價(jià)較高的地區(qū),，普通家庭可以在谷值時(shí)段儲(chǔ)備太陽(yáng)能電力,，然后在峰值時(shí)段使用——比如某個(gè)炎熱的下午，家家戶(hù)戶(hù)的空調(diào)都嗡嗡作響的時(shí)候,。

????它對(duì)電力公司也有好處,。大量太陽(yáng)能電池可以幫助電力公司將可再生能源整合到電網(wǎng)中。太陽(yáng)能時(shí)斷時(shí)續(xù),，也就是說(shuō)它會(huì)突然涌進(jìn)電網(wǎng),，也會(huì)突然消失，從而造成供電不穩(wěn),。把太陽(yáng)能電力存儲(chǔ)下來(lái)就能消除這樣的波動(dòng),。今年10月份，加利福尼亞州監(jiān)管部門(mén)要求電力公司在2020年之前將其可再生能源電力儲(chǔ)備能力提高到1.3吉瓦,，大大促進(jìn)了太陽(yáng)能電力存儲(chǔ)的發(fā)展,。

????不過(guò)，太陽(yáng)能電力存儲(chǔ)的一大障礙是成本,。這類(lèi)系統(tǒng)造價(jià)很高,，而且還不清楚回報(bào)率如何，甚至都不知道能否產(chǎn)生回報(bào),。中國(guó)電池制造企業(yè)比亞迪的太陽(yáng)能電池系統(tǒng)售價(jià)介于3000-10000美元（18435-61450元人民幣）,，具體價(jià)格視電池規(guī)格而定。沃倫?巴菲特的伯克希爾哈撒韋公司（Berkshire Hathaway）持有大量比亞迪股份,。截至目前,，比亞迪的這些產(chǎn)品在歐洲一直銷(xiāo)路良好。比亞迪高級(jí)副總裁李柯說(shuō)：“歐洲對(duì)我們來(lái)說(shuō)不僅僅是個(gè)市場(chǎng),，同時(shí)還因?yàn)闅W洲政府推出了很好的獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)機(jī)制,。”

????美國(guó)的情況則有些不同,。在美國(guó),，太陽(yáng)能電力存儲(chǔ)沒(méi)有補(bǔ)貼。李柯認(rèn)為,，租賃模式——就像屋頂太陽(yáng)能系統(tǒng)供應(yīng)商SolarCity和SunRun所做的那樣——也許會(huì)激活美國(guó)市場(chǎng)（家庭不必承擔(dān)前期成本,，只需每個(gè)月支付較少的使用費(fèi)）。

????雖然存在定價(jià)問(wèn)題,，但越來(lái)越多的專(zhuān)家相信,，隨著電池產(chǎn)量上升,，技術(shù)進(jìn)步以及成本的最終下降，太陽(yáng)能電力存儲(chǔ)有著光明的長(zhǎng)期前景,。布隆伯格能源（Bloomberg Energy）預(yù)計(jì),，到2020年，太陽(yáng)能電力的電池存儲(chǔ)成本每度可下降57%,。投資研究機(jī)構(gòu)Lux Research估算,，得益于來(lái)自日本和德國(guó)的旺盛需求，全球太陽(yáng)能系統(tǒng)及電力存儲(chǔ)市場(chǎng)的規(guī)模將從今年的不足2億美元（12.29億元人民幣）猛增到2018年的28億美元（172.06億元人民幣）——這個(gè)消息對(duì)希望擺脫供電網(wǎng)絡(luò)限制的家庭來(lái)說(shuō)一個(gè)好的開(kāi)始,。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：Charlie

????One of the great -- and somewhat obvious -- shortfalls of solar power is that these systems cannot generate electricity when the sun's not shining. Now a number of companies including Tesla (TSLA), BYD, and Bosch are offering a new generation of lithium ion battery storage systems -- similar to those used to power electric cars -- to capture electricity generated by residential solar systems. Put a big battery in your home, and store the electricity generated by your rooftop system for a rainy day.

????The advantage of such systems is that in power outages, you can still have as much as a day or two of power to run your lights and appliances. You can also control when you use your electricity. In markets where utilities have variable pricing -- which means higher prices during peak hours when demand is high -- a homeowner can store his solar power when rates are cheap and use it when rates soar -- like on a hot afternoon when everyone has the air conditioning humming.

????There are advantages for utilities too. Having lots of batteries in the system helps power companies integrate renewables into the grid -- solar produces power intermittently, which means it surges in and out of the grid, causing instability. Storage helps level off these bumps and dips. Solar storage got a big boost in October when California regulators required utilities to procure 1.3 gigawatts of renewable storage capacity by 2020.

????The big drawback for storage, however, is price. These systems are expensive, and it's not at all clear what the payback is or even whether there is one. BYD, the Chinese battery maker in which Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) owns a significant stake, sells a solar battery system that ranges from $3,000 to $10,000, depending on size. So far BYD's system is selling well in Europe. Says BYD's senior vice president Stella Li: "We have more of a market in Europe because the government incentives there are good."

????It's a different story in the U.S. where no subsidies exist for solar storage. Li thinks that a leasing model -- like the ones available for rooftop solar systems from providers like SolarCity (SCTY) and SunRun -- might help kick-start the market here. (Instead of paying the full cost of a system upfront, the homeowner pays a low monthly fee for solar power.)

????Despite the pricing problem, a growing number of experts believe the long-term future looks bright for storage as battery production goes up, technology improves and costs eventually come down. Bloomberg Energy predicts that battery storage costs will fall 57% a kilowatt-hour by 2020. Thanks to strong demand in Japan and Germany, Lux Research sees the global market for solar systems combined with energy storage growing to $2.8 billion in 2018 from less than $200 million this year -- a good start for homeowners who want to free themselves from the grid.