A big coal shutdown -- plants part-owned by Puget Sound Energy

Two aging Montana coal plants, part-owned by Puget Sound Energy, will cease operations by the end of 2019, more than two years before the previously announced phaseout date.

The plants, Colstrip 1 and 2, were built in the mid-1970's and cannot compete with natural gas and renewable energy.

"The plant team as done a great job of responding to the challenges faced by Units 1 and 2, but we have been unsuccessful in making the units economically viable," Dale Lebsack of Talen Energy, which manages the plants, said in a statement.

Puget Sound Energy is part-owner of Units 1 and 2. The Bellevue-based utility must live with recently passed legislation that would phase out generation and/or use of coal power in Washington by 2025.

Despite President Trump's advocacy or coal, and promise to restore it, coal has continued its decline as an energy source in America. Major coal producers, the latest Cloud Peak Energy in Wyoming, have filed for bankruptcy protection..

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-big-coal-shutdown-plants-part-owned-by-puget-sound-energy/ar-AACKMYB