Solar panels are an increasingly common sight on the tops of homes in wealthy parts of Washington, D.C. Now the costly technology is moving into a poorer area of the city. And, the people who live there are getting the panels for free.
太阳能电池板在华盛顿特区富有家庭的屋顶上越来越常见。现在这项昂贵的技术开始走向该市的较贫困地区，居住于此的人们可以免费获得太阳能电池板。
Southeast Washington D.C. is an area known more for low-income housing than new technology. But several homes in Southeast now are topped with solar panels.
华盛顿东南区更为人知的是保障性住房，而不是新技术。但是东南区的一些家庭现在铺上了太阳能电池板。
Tila Felder is among those who have received solar panels for her home. She praised the lower energy costs.
蒂拉·费尔德（Tila Felder）就是获得了太阳能电池板的家庭之一。她对能源成本降低赞不绝口。
"I am very excited. My electric bill has really dropped. The last few months it's been $40 per month [compared to] $200 a month."
她说，“太兴奋了，我的电费确实下降了。过去几个月每月电费只有40美元，原来是200美元一个月。”
Local officials make these solar panels available to residents whose yearly earnings are at or below $50,500 for a family of three. A family of four can make up to $60,000 a year and qualify for the panels.
当地官员向年收入不高于50500美元的三口之家居民提供这种太阳能电池板。四口之家居民的年收入水平可以放宽到6万美元，他们也有资格获得这种太阳能电池板。
Ted Trabue is with the local government program, DC Sustainable Energy Utility. He says they plan to put solar panels on hundreds more homes.
泰德·特拉布韦（Ted Trabue）就职于特区可持续能源公用事业项目。他说他们计划给数百个家庭安装太阳能电池板。
"We're doing about 135 this year; next year the goal is 200. We've been able to hit ours goals every year for the last four years. In the years after that, the funding looks secure. I see no reason why we shouldn't be able to do more like 250 homes."
他说，“今年我们大概要安装135户，明年的目标是200户。在过去四年里我们每年都实现了预定目标。在此之后的几年里，我们的经费有了保障，每年为250户家庭安装太阳能电池板是完全有可能的。”
Atta Kiarash installs solar-equipment. He says he will set up as many as 1,200 solar panels this year. That is not a high number compared to states like California. But Mr. Kiarash and other Washington officials believe the number of installed panels could double by 2016.
阿塔·基阿拉什（Atta Kiarash）负责安装太阳能设备。他说，今年他将会安装多达1200套太阳能电池板。这个数字和加利福尼亚等州比起来不算高。但是基阿拉什先生和华盛顿有关官员认为，到2016年太阳能电池板的安装量将会翻倍。
"Most of the time; most of our clients hear (of) us through word of mouth, through other jobs we've done in the past or through existing clients, and what they do is they reach out to us and we do the income qualification and we come out and do a site visit and make sure that they qualify. And if they qualify, we just put them on our construction schedule and we get the job started.
他说，“一般情况下，我们的客户都是通过之前我们做过的项目或老客户，通过口耳相传知道我们，然而和我们取得联系。我们核实他们的收入，并且进行实地考察确保他们符合安装资格。如果符合，我们就会把他们列入施工计划准备安装。”
The program is paid for with fees from factories and oil processing centers for their carbon dioxide emissions. Government officials expect millions of dollars in savings as the solar panels become more popular. They believe energy subsidies to poor families will be cut and electric costs will go down. They add that new jobs will be created.
这个项目的资金来自于工厂和炼油中心缴纳的碳排放费。政府官员预计随着太阳能电池板的推广能节省数百万美元。他们认为，对贫困家庭的能源补助会减少，电费也会下降，而且还会创造新的就业机会。
Edwin Amaker also lives in Southeast Washington. He is pleased with the 16 new solar panels on his roof.
埃德温·艾梅克（Edwin Amaker）也居住在华盛顿东南区。他对屋顶上的16块新的太阳能电池板感到非常高兴。
"Well, I was told that I would save between 30-40 percent which is major, you know, when you start talking about the price of energy nowadays. So I like that; the less money out of my pocket, the more money I have for the family."
他说，“他们告诉我，我可以节省30%到40%的电费，我很高兴，少掏点电费，我就能给家里多买点别的东西。”
Washington officials hope to start a program next year to help small businesses install solar panels on their buildings. They hope to turn the nation's capital into an environmentally-clean solar city.
华盛顿官员希望在明年启动一个项目帮助小型企业在其建筑物上安装太阳能电池板。他们希望将美国首都变为一个清洁环保的太阳能城市。
I'm Jonathan Evans.
我是乔纳森·埃文斯。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)