AP, BILLINGS, MontanaOne of the largest coal-fired power plants in the western US is to close two of its four units in the next few days as the Montana facility edges toward an eventual total shutdown. Colstrip Units 1 and 2 — built in the 1970s when massive strip mines were being developed across Montana and Wyoming — will close by Sunday or as soon as they run out of coal to burn, Talen Energy spokeswoman Taryne Williams said on Thursday. The two closing units are operated by Pennsylvania-based Talen, which co-owns them with Puget Sound Energy of Washington State. However, there are no plans to dismantle them, because of their proximity to the two remaining units, Williams said. That would boost South Dakota-based NorthWestern’s ownership interest in the power plant to 55 percent even as many other utilities across the US have been getting out of the coal power market in recent years.
