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  3. A US Energy Department report calls for incentives to boost coal-fired and nuclear power plants following a stream of closures t

A US Energy Department report calls for incentives to boost coal-fired and nuclear power plants following a stream of closures t

admin2018-03-26  57
问题    A US Energy Department report calls for incentives to boost coal-fired and nuclear power plants following a stream of closures that it said undermined reliable sources of electricity. The findings of the study, released late on Wednesday, drew scorn from renewable energy advocates but praise from the coal and nuclear industries. The report dovetails with(与......相吻合)President Donald Trump’s promise to revive the ailing mining sector. But it differs from conclusions presented in an earlier draft, which had said big increases in renewable power generation remained possible without undermining grid reliability. The administration had not yet reviewed the early draft, which was written by department staff.
   Energy Secretary Rick Perry commissioned the study in April to evaluate whether "regulatory burdens" imposed by past administrations, including that of former President Barack Obama, had hurt the grid by forcing shutdowns of baseload(基本负载)plants, which provide nonstop power, like those fired by coal and nuclear fuel. Obama had introduced a number of regulations intended to slash emissions of carbon dioxide, which are blamed for climate change. This accelerated the retirement of coal-fired power plants and bolstered the newly-developed solar and wind sectors, which depend heavily on weather conditions for their power output.
   " It is apparent that in today’s competitive markets certain regulations and subsidies are having a large impact on the functioning of markets, and thereby challenging our power generation mix," Perry said in a letter introducing the study. " It is important for policy makers to consider their intended and unintended effects. "
   The study, conducted by the department’s staff, said cheap natural gas was the main driver of the closure of baseload coal and nuclear plants, a trend that was putting areas of the country at greater risk of power outages. The department recommended giving baseload plants pricing advantages for their power, as well as making it easier and cheaper to get permits to build more such projects.
   Howard Crystal, a spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity which advocates for clean energy, called the recommendations "dangerously misguided". "The reality is that we can protect our planet and our energy supplies by embracing wind and solar," he said.
   Some coal and nuclear energy groups welcomed the final report’s findings. " This is a much-needed, pragmatic look at US electricity reliability and resilience(复原力), including the priority of maintaining critical clean baseload power as electricity markets change," said Rich Powell, director of ClearPath, which advocates for nuclear and hydropower. Last week, Neil Chatterjee, the newly appointed chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said coal plants needed to be "properly compensated to recognize the value they provide to the system. "
What did Mr. Crystal scold of being "dangerously misguided" ?
选项 A、The findings of the study released on Wednesday.
B、The conclusions written in an earlier draft.
C、The regulations brought in by President Obama.
D、The comments of Mr. Perry on clean energy.
答案A
解析 事实细节题。本题考查清洁能源支持者霍华德·克里斯特尔的观点。定位句提到，支持清洁能源的生物多样性中心发言人霍华德·克里斯特尔称，这些建议受到了“危险地误导”。根据上下文承接关系，这些建议应该就是第四段最后一句中所提到的能源部建议给予基荷发电厂价格优势，同时令此类项目的获批建设更容易和更价廉，而这与作者在第一段提到的周三发布的研究结果是一致的，故答案为A)。B)“一份早期起草案中的结论”，由原文第一段倒数第二句可知，那份草案的结论是支持清洁能源的，故排除；C)“奥巴马总统制定的法规”，根据第二段和第三段相关信息，其也是支持清洁能源，要求关停传统电厂，故排除；D)“佩里先生对清洁能源的评价”，原文中并没有正面提到佩里对清洁能源的看法，故排除。
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