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State already in step with Obama clean-power plan

President Obama’s clean-power plan released Monday is expected to give additional momentum to Pacific Northwest efforts already under way to reduce the use of coal-fired electricity.

Though Washington gets more than 60 percent of its power from hydroelectricity, a 2012 state analysis found that the state still gets nearly 15 percent of its utility power from coal — a major source of carbon-dioxide emissions that drive climate change.

In the decade ahead, Washington’s use of coal is scheduled to decline sharply as the TransAlta coal plant near Centralia is phased out, with part of the complex shutting down in 2020 and the remainder in 2025.