蒙大拿州的一家火力發(fā)電廠關(guān)閉了四家中的兩家

蒙大拿州的一家火力發(fā)電廠關(guān)閉了四家中的兩家

One of the largest coal-fired power plants in the western US will close two of its four units in coming days as the Montana facility edges toward an eventual total shutdown.

美國(guó)西部最大的燃煤電廠之一將在未來(lái)幾天關(guān)閉其4座機(jī)組中的2座，這家位于蒙大拿州的電廠即將全面關(guān)閉。

Colstrip Units 1 and 2 — built in the 1970s when massive strip mines were being developed across Montana and Wyoming — will close by Jan. 5 or as soon as they run out of coal to burn, Talen Energy spokeswoman Taryne Williams said Thursday.

Colstrip 1號(hào)和2號(hào)機(jī)組建于上世紀(jì)70年代，當(dāng)時(shí)蒙大拿州和懷俄明州正在開(kāi)發(fā)大型露天煤礦。

The plant employs about 300 people and is the main driver of the economy for the surrounding town of Colstrip, which has about 2,300 people. But it’s been unable to compete with surging investments into renewable energy and cheap natural gas, as the coal plant’s operating costs have risen with the need for better pollution controls.

這家工廠雇傭了大約300人，是周邊城鎮(zhèn)Colstrip的主要經(jīng)濟(jì)推動(dòng)力，該鎮(zhèn)約有2300人。但是，由于燃煤電廠的運(yùn)營(yíng)成本隨著更好的污染控制的需要而上升，它無(wú)法與投資激增的可再生能源和廉價(jià)天然氣相競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。

Some employees for now will be re-assigned to decommissioning work that will last through mid-2020, Williams said. She said there are “no hard and fast numbers or timelines” as the company considers how many workers will be needed for the remaining two units.

威廉姆斯說(shuō)，目前一些員工將被重新分配到2020年中期之前的退役工作。她說(shuō)，公司在考慮剩下的兩個(gè)部門需要多少工人時(shí)，“沒(méi)有硬性的數(shù)字或時(shí)間表”。

The closure of Units 1 and 2 was long anticipated as demand for US coal collapsed in recent years and came despite vows by elected officials in Montana to find ways to keep it open.

1號(hào)和2號(hào)機(jī)組的關(guān)閉早在人們的預(yù)料之中，因?yàn)榻陙?lái)美國(guó)的煤炭需求大幅下降，盡管蒙大拿州民選官員發(fā)誓要設(shè)法讓它繼續(xù)運(yùn)營(yíng)。

The two closing units are operated by Pennsylvania-based Talen, which co-owns them with Puget Sound Energy of Washington state.

這兩家即將關(guān)閉的工廠由總部位于賓夕法尼亞州的Talen公司運(yùn)營(yíng)，該公司與華盛頓州的Puget Sound Energy共同擁有這些工廠。

Sen. Duane Ankney, who represents Colstrip in the Montana Legislature, said the impending closure was a “prime example” of how out-of-state interests were hurting the coal industry to the detriment of Montana.

在蒙大拿州立法機(jī)構(gòu)中代表Colstrip的參議員安克尼(Duane Ankney)說(shuō)，即將關(guān)閉是州外利益如何損害煤炭行業(yè)、損害蒙大拿州利益的“最好例子”。