美国国家公共电台 NPR Coal Country: EPA Plan Is Short Term Boost, No Solution For Industry Decline

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The Trump¹ administration's rollback of coal plant regulations last week has renewed hopes for those in the industry that some plants might stay open a little longer. The share of coal in the country's energy mix has dropped dramatically over the past decade. Even in the state that produces the most coal, there is concern that this latest lifeline is not going to be enough to turn this around. From Wyoming Public Radio, Cooper McKim reports.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Unintelligible).

COOPER MCKIM, BYLINE²: In Gillette, Wyo., on a bright, cloudless day, huge open-pit mines dot the perimeter³ of a coal-fired power plant, the Dry Fork Station. Inside, turbines are producing electricity from pulverized⁴ coal mined a mile south. It's feeding electricity to the entire Western grid⁵ right now.

TOM STALCUP: California, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico west to the ocean.

MCKIM: That's Tom Stalcup, the plant manager here. He says the sun can stop shining, wind blowing. But coal, he says, is reliable.

STALCUP: Coal-fired power plants are a necessity to keep the system stable - the electricity grid stable in America.

MCKIM: Stalcup believes the Obama-era Clean Power Plan could have put that at risk. It aimed to cut carbon emissions⁶ by shifting away from coal to renewables. That would've been a big blow to Wyoming where the coal industry produces nearly a quarter of the state's income.

STALCUP: We're hoping, you know, this new plan under the Trump administration will relax that a little bit.

MCKIM: The new proposal, called the Affordable⁷ Clean Energy Rule, would give states more power to regulate carbon emissions. It doesn't set any cap for reducing them. It simply suggests how individual plants could become more efficient.

STALCUP: You know, it'll keep some of the plants on. I don't know if it'll keep all of them on. But, yeah, I think it'll have an impact on which plants close and which plants stay running.

MCKIM: University of Wyoming economist⁸ Rob Godby is not so sure. He says the real problem for coal is economic. It's just too expensive compared to other forms of energy.

ROB GODBY: Coal-fired power plants have to compete directly with natural gas plants and renewables where they're already losing, and this plan really isn't going to affect that.

MCKIM: Godby says, sure, it's possible some plants could stay open longer. The proposal would allow coal plants to make minor⁹ emissions control changes without having to do a full bank-breaking environmental upgrade.

GODBY: It maybe creates a little bit more of an incentive¹⁰ to invest in some coal-fired power plants to keep them open a little longer than they might have been otherwise, but that is a very small number.

MCKIM: According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, utilities plan to close about three dozen coal units by 2020. And many say they don't expect that to change despite the new proposal. Cloud Peak Energy, the country's third largest coal producer, welcomes the rollback. But spokesman Rick Curtsinger says more could still be done to protect coal. He says the company would even like to see Congress step in.

RICK CURTSINGER: And develop comprehensive and cohesive¹¹ energy legislation that gives long-term certainty to utilities to make the 20 and 30-year investments necessary for lasting¹² affordable and reliable electricity.

MCKIM: Back at the Dry Fork Station, Gillette Mayor Louise Carter-King says the administration's Affordable Clean Energy Rule is really just a short-term boost, plus everything could change again after the next presidential election.

LOUISE CARTER-KING: You know, there's always that thought. You just don't know what the next administration will do. That uncertainty¹³ is tough on people and the industry.

MCKIM: Utilities are mindful of that, too, which is another reason why the Trump administration's latest effort to help coal may not change much. For NPR News, I'm Cooper McKim.

(SOUNDBITE OF TRACE BUNDY'S "LITURGY")

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 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。

3 perimeter   

n.周边，周长，周界

参考例句：

• The river marks the eastern perimeter of our land.这条河标示我们的土地东面的边界。
• Drinks in hands,they wandered around the perimeter of the ball field.他们手里拿着饮料在球场周围漫不经心地遛跶。

4 pulverized   

adj.[医]雾化的，粉末状的v.将…弄碎( pulverize的过去式和过去分词 )；将…弄成粉末或尘埃；摧毁；粉碎

参考例句：

• We pulverized the opposition. 我们彻底击败了对手。
• He pulverized the opposition with the force of his oratory. 他能言善辩把对方驳得体无完肤。 来自辞典例句

5 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

6 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。

7 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

8 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

9 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。

10 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

11 cohesive   

adj.有粘着力的；有结合力的；凝聚性的

参考例句：

• She sealed the parcel with cohesive tape.她用粘胶带把包裹封起来。
• The author skillfully fuses these fragments into a cohesive whole.作者将这些片断巧妙地结合成一个连贯的整体。

12 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

13 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。