Activists Rejoice As Coal-Fired Plants Shut Down

Activists Celebrate Coal Plants' Shutting Down
Midwest Generation's Crawford Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant, is seen Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Chicago. The city's two coal-fired plants will shut down early under a deal between the operator, city officials and environmental groups. The Chicago Clean Power Coalition says Midwest Generation signed an agreement Wednesday to close the Crawford plant by the end of 2014 and its Fisk Generating Station plant by the end of this year. Chicago is the only large U.S. city with coal-fired power plants operating within its borders. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Midwest Generation's Crawford Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant, is seen Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, in Chicago. The city's two coal-fired plants will shut down early under a deal between the operator, city officials and environmental groups. The Chicago Clean Power Coalition says Midwest Generation signed an agreement Wednesday to close the Crawford plant by the end of 2014 and its Fisk Generating Station plant by the end of this year. Chicago is the only large U.S. city with coal-fired power plants operating within its borders. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Neighborhood and environmental activists are celebrating as Chicago’s last two coal-fired electricity plants enter a three-month decommissioning phase. But the closings are leaving dozens of Midwest Generation workers without a job.

The company, a subsidiary of California-based Edison International, says its Crawford station in the city’s Little Village neighborhood burned its last lump of coal more than a week ago after operating since 1924. The Fisk station, constructed in 1903 in nearby Pilsen, shut down Thursday night.

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