走进上海光伏示范家庭
人们对可持续生活方式越来越感兴趣，社区无疑是了解和推广这一生活方式的最佳地点。
走进上海光伏示范家庭
夏•洛婷
中文阅读
当地儿童参观倪欢的工作坊，房屋上方是供电的家用太阳能电池板。
社区中的城市绿洲探险
过去2年中，家住上海的倪欢为当地儿童及家长举办了多场低碳科技工作坊，而这个日常聚会的地点就在倪欢家中。倪欢家位于一处时髦郊区公寓楼的一楼，毗邻上海交通大学。上海交通大学是中国几个主要的电动汽车前沿研究中心之一，倪欢的丈夫就在这里工作。
工作坊通常都是在一个铺满了米黄色瓷砖的露台上进行，露台放满了漂亮的木制花槽，还有不少种满绿色植物的棕色陶制花盆，与周边环境截然不同。
对很多孩子来说，这可能是他们能够亲手触摸土地学习种植的唯一机会。他们一边兴奋地玩泥巴，一边听倪欢解释什么是有机农业，以及如何用食物残渣做堆肥。这个不起眼的矩形空间里有一个鱼菜共生系统，配有2个20瓦空气泵作为换气装置，由安装在房屋上方的家用太阳能电池板为供电。该系统的水面上可以进行生菜和花卉的无土栽培，水面下还有20条游来游去的小鱼，可以保障整个人工仿生系统的健康。对这些孩子来说，这样的工作坊不像是学校课程，而更像是一次城市绿洲探险。
但是这个想法并非一开始就有的。从倪欢家整个系统的设计就不难看出，用低碳技术进行住房改造并对邻居开放的想法完全是一点点形成的。一切起源于2013年给露台屋顶安装的太阳能电池板。“都是因为气候变化，说真的。”倪欢有些玩笑地说，“那年上海的夏天太热了，根本没法出门。露台上要有荫凉才行。”做环境研究的她正好听说政府出台了一项全新的家用太阳能支持计划。也就是从那时起，他们有了用太阳能电池板给露台造房顶的念头。
倪欢回忆道：“我们当时听说有一种补贴方案允许把发了用不了的电量卖给国家电网。所以我就说，行呗，那咱们就试试。”粗略计算后，倪欢认为这种既遮阳又能发电的太阳能房顶还是比较合算的，因为上海每年都会有台风季节，而传统的遮阳棚每年台风季之后都要更换。
下一步就是从当地住建委和房屋物业公司获得安装批准。当地政府给予了积极支持，因为他们也希望能够尽快找到一个协助落实中央政府全新环保倡议的典型案例。“整个获批非常顺利。” 倪欢说到。系统安装完成后，当地党委书记还成了倪欢家的首批参观者之一。
项目所需的所有设备、定制与安装服务都是通过倪欢自己的剑桥校友网络介绍的校友企业完成的。倪欢说，稍微难一点的就是找一个合适的负责全程安装的企业。当时不比现在，这两年物流行业快速发展，目前中国一二线城市中从事此类安装服务的公司已经增至数百家。
补贴机制助力家庭光伏示范
令人意外的是，倪欢的可持续生活方式竟然在社区内得到了不少响应。对这种新型家居系统的问询和参观请求让倪欢应接不暇，所以她干脆就开办了一个非盈利组织，专门向大家传授低碳科技知识。这家名叫“上海闵行区江川（绿色光年环保服务中心）”（简称“中心”）的非政府组织于今年春天正式成立，目前在闵行地区共有1500人参与了中心的活动。
倪欢说：“大家想参观，让我意识到，目前还没有社区级别的类似设施展示模型。这种展示能够告诉人们低碳发展模式到底是什么，以及环境保护和绿色生活方式到底意味着什么，人们确有对这些信息的需求。”
面对日益严重的污染问题，中国的一二线城市正在积极落实节能措施，而且他们也的确有能力实现真正的改变。倪欢的这个项目恰好体现了一二线城市中产阶层全新的绿色消费模式趋势。
倪欢曾在英国剑桥大学学习发展学，对此她表示：“弥漫在中国快速增长的中产阶级中的过度消费风气，才是阻碍人们转变观念的最大障碍。”此外，中国传统的节俭观念也在日渐消失，这让倪欢感到有些惋惜。中国未来的发展中，很重要的一点是要让人们意识到消费更多和过得更好并没有必然关系。
过去30年，中国从世界上经济最薄弱的国家一路成长为全球第二富裕国家。这种飞跃主要依靠的是工业、制造业快速发展和出口快速增长。但如今中国的经济增长放缓，同时民众也感受到空气污染、土地污染和水源污染带来的种种负面影响。中国政府因此开始转变发展思路，逐步放弃重工业扩张，转而支持可持续发展和节能模式。
在这点上，中国可谓立下了雄心壮志。按照最新一期五年发展规划要求，中国将在2020年前将能源消费削减15%。接下来这几年，中国将逐步利用现代分布式供电网络替代现有的化石燃料家庭供电模式。
政府将出台激励措施鼓励人们采用全新的节能标准，不过目标达成与否，主要还得取决于当下这种“买买买等于好生活”的大众消费态度能否转变。
消费模式变革
那么改变消费者行为的最佳方式是什么呢？
倪欢表示：“类似积分、小礼物还有太阳能站补贴等经济激励，能增加人们对绿色消费和绿色生活方式的兴趣和重视程度。”和采用电力收购制之前的欧美地区类似，补贴家用系统被认为是在各地推广小型可再生和低碳发电的一种非常有效的措施。
2013年8月，中国领导人对外介绍了中国支持分布式太阳能屋顶发电装置的首份费率表。在安装设备后的20年内，消费者可以从其屋顶太阳能的电力输出中获得中央政府每千瓦时0.42元（约合6美分）的补贴。此外，自用之外卖给国家电网的多余电量获得每千瓦时0.43元左右的收入。还有其他多个中国城市会在国家补贴的基础上增加额外补贴，加大推动力度。以上海为例，当地政府就会向家用太阳能发电量再提供每千瓦时0.4元的补贴，补贴为期5年。
截至目前，倪欢夫妇建造这个绿色系统大约总共花费了3.1万元（其中有7000元都花在了购买不锈钢棚架上），而他们每年通过补贴制度获得的收入大约是2100元。虽然和投入比起来补贴并不多，但是倪欢相信只要政府能够坚持用消费者补贴支持可再生能源领域发展，这种政策最终一定会产生非常深远的影响。
新能源车一族兴起
然而倪欢认为，对人们日常生活影响最大的政策应该是对电动汽车的扶持。去年，倪欢与上海交通大学的几位朋友和老师商定，决定团体购买同一款比亚迪电动汽车，从便获得销售商更大的折扣。目前，一个顶级纯电动汽车品牌（比如比亚迪和梅赛德斯-奔驰合资品牌腾势）会向每个购车者提供30万元（约合4.4万美元）的返利。上海地区中产阶层平均收入大约为21.977万元（约合3.4007万美元）。因此对于大多数家庭来说，团体购买的方式会让购买高价汽车也成为可能。
电动汽车补贴制度同样也能带来一些额外的经济效益。购买者不仅可以免税的方式节约6万元的购车款，还能以免费获得一张上海汽车牌照。要知道，上海的汽车牌照可是“价值不菲”。传统汽车所有者要经过多次激烈的高价投标才有可能获得牌照，等待时间可能短则几个月，长则几年。
社区带动的电动汽车合购热潮可以算是中国绿色生活运动中一个有趣的趋势。在许多新兴城市，虽然车辆保有量还未达到很高水平，但以优步或滴滴等打车软件为代表的共享经济却发展得如火如荼。这也许会对个人购买机动车意愿产生深远影响。中国在这方面的发展路径与西方国家不相同，因为在西方国家人们普遍认同汽车私有化并习惯了用汽车长距离通勤，而在先有打车软件的中国，今后人们可能希望某天能用汽车，但是不一定要拥有它。
与此同时，电动汽车如今也日渐成为了新的中产阶级的地位象征。倪欢表示：“也许这些人还买不起特斯拉，但是他们还是希望有一个能够展示自己环保生活的‘证据’。”目前电动汽车还很贵，可能让这些人觉得开电动车更有地位。
了解可再生能源技术及其家庭应用的需求正在迅速增加。目前国家政策已经到位，下一步要做的就是让社区领导者向居民普及如何将这些新技术应用到日常生活中。就像倪欢所说：“人们的确想了解这些技术，只是不知道从哪儿开始。”
READ IN ENGLISH
Children hold a banner outside the home of Helen Ni in Shanghai. The roof shading the patio is covered with solar panels.
Urban oasis in the community
For the last two years, Helen Ni has hosted low carbon technology workshops for local kids and their parents. The informal gatherings take place at her ground-floor apartment in the Shanghai suburb of Minhang close to Jiaotong University, one of the country’s foremost EV research centres.
Most classes take place outside on the beige-tiled patio, which stands out against her neighbour's for its big wooden planters and
49 33328 49 16433 0 0 7635 0 0:00:04 0:00:02 0:00:02 7632 brown ceramic pots that burst with greenery.
For many of the children, it’s their only opportunity to learn about planting while actually getting their hands dirty. They thrust their tiny fingers into the soil with glee while Helen explains what organic farming is and how you turn food waste into compost. In the corner of this unassuming rectangular space, there’s an aquaponics system to grow lettuce and flowers without the use of soil. It’s powered by fresh water and two 20 watt air pumps that draw their energy from the home solar panels above. Beneath the surface there are 20 small, busy fish that keep the artificial ecosystem healthy. It's more of an urban oasis than a class room.
But Helen never set out to be a teacher. The idea to festoon her home with low carbon technology came about piecemeal. It all started in 2013 with a solar-panelled patio roof. “It was climate change, really,” notes Helen with deliberate irony. “That summer was so hot in Shanghai that we couldn’t go outside. We needed shade to enjoy our new patio.” The Nis had heard about a new government scheme to support home solar projects. That’s when they came up with the notion of building a roof made out of solar panels.
“We had heard about a subsidy scheme that also lets you sell the surplus energy to the state grid. So I said, 'Ok, let’s see if it is user-friendly or not,'" recalls Helen. After some calculations Helen decided there were cost benefits in investing in a solar roof that could also power their home versus a traditional awning which would need replacing annually (Shanghai has a typhoon season).
The next step was to get permission from the local residential committee and the property management company that run the complex. This came easily, as did support from the local government, which was keen to be seen as supportive of the new central government initiative. “The whole process of getting approval from the local government was hassle-free,” says Helen, who counted the local Party secretary among her first visitors.
Everything from the equipment to the scoping and installation service was ordered via a contact found through an alumni network. The hard part was finding a company that offered full installation, notes Helen. Now there are hundreds operating in tier one and two cities across the country thanks to China's rapidly expanding logistics network.
Incentivising change
Surprisingly, Helen’s sustainable lifestyle has gained a strong following in her community. She was so inundated with enquiries and requests to see her unorthodox home that she had “no choice” but to set up a non-profit organisation to teach people about low carbon technology. The Shanghai Minhang Jiangchuan (Green Light-Year Environmental Service Centre), launched in Spring and so far has reached 1,500 people in the Minhang area.
“I realised that community-level demonstration facilities like this don't really exist. Ones that show people what low carbon development actually looks like; or what environmental protection and green lifestyle really means. The demand is there,” says Helen.
The project has revealed a new, upwardly-mobile type of consumer living in China’s first and second tier cities, who are keen to try new energy-saving technology that the government is advocating in response to rising pollution.
“Rampant consumerism among China's fast-growing middle class has been the biggest barrier to changing people’s attitudes,” says Helen, who studied low carbon technology development at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom before moving back to China. “At the same time, our traditional values of being frugal are vanishing,” she laments.
De-coupling notions of upward mobility and increased consumption will be crucial to China's future prosperity. In the last three decades the country has gone from being one of the world’s weakest economies to its second richest. Its rise has been based on a model of rapid industrial growth, manufacturing and export. But now that growth is slowing and China’s population is struggling to cope with polluted air, soil and water. In response, the government has switched to a path of sustainable development and energy efficiency.
Its aims are ambitious. China’s latest five-year plan calls for a 15% reduction in energy consumption by 2020. It intends to do this by shifting the way people power their homes and vehicles from fossil fuels to electricity. Success will largely depend on altering public attitudes to consumption and incentivising communities to adopt new energy efficiency standards.
Consumption patterns
So what is the best way of changing consumer behaviour?
“Economic incentives such as points, small gifts and subsidies for solar plants, will make green consumption or green lifestyle more interesting for people and better-respected,” says Helen.
As in Europe and the US before, feed-in-tariffs have been an effective driver of small-scale renewable and low carbon electricity generation across parts of the country.
In August 2013, China’s leaders introduced the first tariffs to support distributed solar rooftop installations. Consumers are entitled to a twenty-year subsidy of 0.42 yuan (US$0.06) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of output from distributed PV rooftop projects. In addition, project owners receive about 0.43 yuan per kWh, approximately, from the state grid for any extra power they generate.
Many cities in China offer additional subsidies to complement the state subsidies and further spur development of the solar PV sector. In Shanghai, the municipal government offers an additional 0.4 yuan per kWh over a five-year period.
In total, the Nis have spent around 31,000 yuan (including 7,000 yuan for stainless steel poles) to build their system so far. They receive about 2,100 per year through the subsidy scheme. Although the return on investment seems small, Helen believes that by continuing to support the renewables sector government policy will have an impact.
The new car owner
However, the one policy responsible for the biggest shift in people's day-to-day choices is the scheme to support electric vehicles (EVs), according to Helen. Last year, the Nis got together with some friends and teachers and set about buying a shared BYD electric vehicle.
Currently, a top brand pure EV vehicle, such as a Denza (a BYD and Mercedes-Benz joint venture) will set you back 300,000 yuan (US$44,000). The average middle class citizen in Shanghai earns 219,770 yuan (US$34,007). Shared ownership therefore makes buying these expensive cars affordable for most families.
The EV subsidy scheme offered additional financial benefits too. It saved them 60,000 yuan on the purchasing cost, which was tax free. It also allowed them to get a highly-prized Shanghai number plate for free, whereas owners of traditional cars must enter a competitive and costly lottery system that can leave people waiting for years.
The rise of community-led car-buying cooperatives is one of the more interesting trends to emerge from the green lifestyle movement in China. In many burgeoning cities, the shared economy, facilitated by phone Apps such as Uber and Didi, has arrived before widespread car ownership. This is likely to have a profound impact on notions of car ownership, which are evolving separately to those in the West. In China, people may expect to drive a car one day, but may not expect to own it.
There is also the emergence of a new middle class aspiration that sees EVs as a status symbol. “They may not be able to afford a Tesla vehicle but people still want to flaunt their eco-credentials,” says Helen. EVs are still expensive, which may add to their social status value.
The growing appetite for information on renewable energy and how to apply it at home is striking. Now that government policies are in place it is time to shine a light on the community leaders who are educating people on how to harness the new technology on the ground. As Helen says, “People want to learn but don’t know where to begin.”
THE END