美国国家公共电台 NPR--How drought threatens electricity producing, coal-fired power plants

How drought threatens electricity producing, coal-fired power plants

Transcript¹

The drought is forcing western states to rethink how much water they use — including dozens of coal-fired power plants that provide electricity to millions.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Drought in the American West is forcing states to rethink how they use water for industry. That includes the energy sector² and coal-fired power plants. Julia Simon reports from Wyoming.

JULIA SIMON, BYLINE³: Driving through the sagebrush west of Cheyenne, the road curves upwards⁴.

Just coming up the hill, you just see all of this steam.

Giant smokestacks shooting steam up into the sky. This is the Jim Bridger Coal Plant. It powers a million-plus homes all the way to Oregon using hot coal and a lot of water for...

DAVID ESKELSEN: The cooling cycle - that probably accounts for 80% to 90% of the water use at the plant.

SIMON: David Eskelsen, spokesperson for plant operator Rocky Mountain Power, shows me the reservoir, lined with rocks, some cottonwood trees, where the plant sucks up 16 million gallons each day. The plant recirculates the water.

ESKELSEN: But then it gets spent and evaporated. And so we need to replenish⁵ that with new water from the Green River.

SIMON: But there are questions over how long there will be new water. The Green River is a tributary⁶ of the rapidly shrinking Colorado River. Amidst a climate change-fueled drought, federal officials are telling states they've got to seriously cut how much of the Colorado River they use. As for the West's 30 coal plants, including Jim Bridger - their water is not locked in.

Here's Wyoming State Engineer, Brandon Gebhart.

BRANDON GEBHART: The priority dates of the Jim Bridger - they would be likely the first one shut off unless they were able to find a different source of water.

SIMON: Joe Smyth of the Energy and Policy Institute says the drought and potential water cuts pose a serious threat to the millions of customers who rely on these coal plants for power.

JOE SMYTH: If you don't have water to cool it, you can't run it, right? Like, it's not a minor⁷ risk. It is a very disruptive event.

SIMON: Earlier this year, New Mexico utility PNM told the Securities and Exchange Commission that their coal plants in the Navajo Nation could be forced to cut electricity generation because of the drought. But while utilities are alerting Wall Street about water shortages, for a Western coal plant like Jim Bridger, there's uncertainty⁸ about who's overseeing this risk on the ground.

John Burbidge is chief counsel at the utility regulator at the Wyoming Public Service Commission. He says they aren't tracking whether there's enough water to keep the power on.

JOHN BURBIDGE: No. I would say not. Really the expert on whether there's adequate water supply is going to be the state engineer. They're the ones who keep track of that.

SIMON: But State Engineer Gebhart tells NPR that while he's happy to help plant operators look for alternate water sources, it's not his role to make sure coal plants have enough water to operate. Jim Bridger doesn't plan to close until 2037. In the meantime, it's considering new technology to capture carbon emissions⁹, according to regulatory filings by the utility. The new technology would use about 35% more water than the coal plant already uses. With the drought, some locals think it's time to move away from coal.

TONY VALDEZ: It's got to go. I mean, they have to go.

SIMON: Tony Valdez used to work in coal plants, including Jim Bridger. He's now the co-owner of a local marina on the Green River that's suffering because of the drought. The water issues of coal have him thinking about new energy.

VALDEZ: So why are we still pushing that [expletive] up in the air when we have wind; we have solar; we have all this stuff that does not impact water?

SIMON: And, he says, they don't cause emissions that fuel megadroughts.

For NPR News, I'm Julia Simon, Point of Rocks, Wyo.

(SOUNDBITE OF PORTICO QUARTET'S "KNEE-DEEP IN THE NORTH SEA")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

5 replenish   

vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满

参考例句：

• I always replenish my food supply before it is depleted.我总是在我的食物吃完之前加以补充。
• We have to import an extra 4 million tons of wheat to replenish our reserves.我们不得不额外进口四百万吨小麦以补充我们的储备。

6 tributary   

n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的

参考例句：

• There was a tributary road near the end of the village.村的尽头有条岔道。
• As the largest tributary of Jinsha river,Yalong river is abundant in hydropower resources.雅砻江是金沙江的最大支流，水力资源十分丰富。

7 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

8 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

9 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。