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These are the brains of the Internet housed in vast warehouses of computers called data centers.
这些是互联网的大脑，名叫数据中心，它们坐落在存有电脑的仓库中。
Every click, tap and swipe runs through a data center somewhere.
每一次敲击，每一次刷卡都是通过某处的数据中心运行的。
And you're sitting right now in Northern Virginia. You're right in the center of the largest data center market in the world.
你现在坐在北弗吉尼亚州，你身处在全球规模最大数据中心市场。
Stan Blackwell is head of economic development at Dominion Energy, the region's electric power company.
斯坦·布莱克威尔是多米尼克能源的经济发展主任，该公司是一家电力公司。
Northern Virginia is home to more data centers than anywhere else in the world
北弗吉尼亚州拥有世界上最多的数据中心，
and Blackwell says each data center draws about 30,000 kilowatts of power.
布莱克威尔称每个数据中心需要大约3万千瓦电。
So to put that in perspective an average residential home is 4 kilowatts.
所以客观地说，一个平均住户的用电量是4千瓦。
These power hungry buildings belong to some of the biggest names in tech Facebook, Microsoft, Google.
这些急需能量的建筑属于一些大技术公司，比如脸书、微软和谷歌。
These companies have plans to get all their power from renewable sources.
这些公司有计划将所有电力变成可再生资源。
Brian Janous is Microsoft's energy manager. It's important that what we build leaves a positive legacy,
布莱恩·贾诺斯是微软的能源经理，我们希望我们创建的可以留下积极的财富，
that we don't build it on the back of fossil fuels, but rather, we build it on the back of the next generation of energy technology of wind and hydro and solar.
我们不是依赖化石燃料而建造的，而是通过下一代能源技术，比如风能、水能和太阳能建造的。
And companies are willing to push hard to get it. Facebook helped modify state regulations,
公司愿意努力实现它，脸书帮助修改国家法规，
so Dominion could sell the company power from several solar farms and build several more.
从而让多米尼克能源可以通过太阳能农场售卖电力，并从而建造更多农场。
Facebook drove that change and that new tariff and we're very happy with it. It's great for customers.
脸书推动这一改变，和新的关税，我们对此感到很高兴，这对客户很好。
Many companies have been willing to pay a premium for renewable energy.
许多公司愿意出重金购买可持续能源。
Now in many cases they no longer have to as the cost of wind and solar has plunged in recent years.
在许多情况下，他们无需再花重金，因为近几年风能和太阳能的价格下降了。
So when Dominion Energy submitted plans to build more gas-fired power plants to meet demand growth,
所以当多米尼克能源递交计划希望建造更多燃气发电厂来满足高需求时，
Microsoft, Amazon, Apple and seven other companies wrote to regulators saying no, we want renewables.
微软、亚马逊以及苹果等公司写信给管理者，称不，我们希望再生能源。
We just don't really see why utilities should be talking about building new fossil fuel plants
我们不明白为什么公共事业要讨论着建造新的化石燃料厂，
that realistically may only have a useful life of a few years before their costs are significantly undercut by wind and solar paired with storage.
说实在的，它们的使用寿命也就几年，之后辅之以储存的风能和太阳能价格就会大幅度低于化石燃料。
Blackwell says Dominion prefers a mix of energy sources for reliability, but that may change.
布莱克威尔称多米尼克能源倾向于混合能源，以满足可靠性，但这或许会改变。
Theoretically if you had very cost-effective battery technology and a lot of solar, perhaps that would displace natural gas. It's not there today.
从理论上讲，如果你的电池技术很划算，或许太阳能就将替代天然气，但如今是不行的。
From autos to retail, major companies across the country are demanding that local authorities supply renewables
从汽车产业到零售，全国许多大公司正要求当地政府提供可持续能源
or they'll build their facilities elsewhere. Alabama's Public Service Commissioner Jeremy Oden saw that firsthand.
否则他们将在其它地方建立厂子，阿拉巴马的公共事业专员杰里米·奥登先看到了这样的情况。
Our first solar decision in the state of Alabama was based solely on the Walmart decision to come in and use solar power in the state of Alabama.
该州的第一个太阳能决定纯粹是基于沃尔玛的决定，沃尔玛决定来到该州并使用太阳能。
When governments are not making climate change a priority, sometimes the private sector is taking the lead.
当政府没有把气候变化当成优先问题时，有时私营企业就会领导这一发展。
Steve Baragona VOA news
史蒂夫·巴拉格纳，VOA新闻
