Energy
East Kentucky Power Co-op selected for federal funding to build or buy renewable energy
A Kentucky electric utility serving more than 570,000 homes, farms and businesses across 89 counties is getting a federal funding boost to invest in renewable energy.? East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC), based in Winchester, is one of 16 rural electric utilities across the country selected to receive a portion of $7.3 billion through the U.S. […]
Utilities that opposed Kentucky’s new energy planning commission are now part of it
Gov. Andy Beshear has filled two seats on a new energy planning commission with utility executives who, like Beshear, opposed the commission’s creation. Kentucky lawmakers earlier this year created the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission (EPIC) to slow the retirement of power plants fueled by coal and natural gas. Investor-owned utilities and environmentalists opposed the […]
$500M from EPA will help nonprofit lenders power energy transition in rural Appalachia
Entrepreneurs in Appalachia have ideas for renewable energy projects, but finding funding in rural and low-income areas can be challenging. A new initiative, the Green Bank for Rural America, could help channel funds to small, rural, nonprofit lenders to support projects like community solar arrays, apprenticeships in renewable energy fields and electrified public transit, just […]
Nuclear industry eyes Kentucky but don’t expect nuclear power plants anytime soon
FRANKFORT — The director of an energy research center at the University of Kentucky told state lawmakers Friday it’s not likely a nuclear power plant will be built in Kentucky over the next 10 years, though some nuclear energy companies are interested in moving to the state.? A new state law passed by the GOP-dominated […]
Some of the poorest Kentuckians pay the highest power bills because their houses leak energy
Investor-owned Kentucky Power faced strong criticism last year when it asked to increase its electricity rates in response to “historic” economic decline among the 20 Eastern Kentucky counties it serves.? The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) ultimately slashed the proposed rate hike by over two-thirds, approving a 5.66% increase in residential bills. But as part […]
Kentucky urged to curb air pollution that makes Mammoth Cave one of the haziest national parks
Mammoth Cave National Park is famous for what’s below the ground, featuring the world’s longest explored cave system with hundreds of miles of passages and a unique ecosystem of fish, insects, worms and crustaceans. But it’s what’s happening in the air above the cave system that has Kentucky environmentalists concerned.? Mammoth Cave is one of […]
Tennessee Valley Authority faces a push to get greener and more transparent?
ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. — When he heard about the sale, Kerry McCarver was perplexed. In 2020, the mayor of rural Cheatham County discovered that the Tennessee Valley Authority bought about 280 acres of rolling farmland “in the middle of nowhere” in his county, which lies just west of Nashville and is home to about 42,000 […]
Kentucky lawmakers hear climate-science skepticism from attorney general’s office
FRANKFORT — A litigator for the Kentucky attorney general disputed the role of carbon dioxide emissions in warming the world’s climate, despite near-total agreement among scientists that the clear gas is a major contributor to warming. Speaking Thursday to state lawmakers, Vic Maddox, counsel on special litigation for Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman, cited the […]
Driving surge in demand for power, data centers eye Kentucky
LOUISVILLE — The boom in artificial intelligence is fueling a proliferation of new data centers? — the computer clusters that power the internet — in “places that maybe we hadn’t thought of before,” an industry spokesman told utility regulators gathered in Louisville last month. Kentucky could be one of those places in the not-so-distant future. […]
Consumer advocates mourn departure of Kentucky’s top utility regulator
The chair of Kentucky’s utility regulator is leaving the post after almost three years to the disappointment of some consumer advocates.? Kentucky Public Service Commission Chair Kent Chandler’s term on the three-person commission expired on June 30. Crystal Staley, a spokesperson for Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, said Chandler had resigned and that the governor appreciated […]
Federal regulators approve controversial Louisiana gas terminal project
A massive and contentious liquefied natural gas export project in coastal Louisiana and an associated pipeline got a key approval from federal regulators Thursday. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an order granting permission for Venture Global to build and operate the CP2 terminal in Cameron Parish along the Gulf Coast and construct and operate […]
Sun, water, federal dollars power new energy projects in Kentucky
Jonathan Moore sees potential for reliable, durable electric power in Kentucky’s hundreds of miles of waterways, more navigable water than many states can boast. The Kentucky River is a prime example, says Moore, a partner in the company Appalachian Hydro Associates. Taking advantage of a system of locks and dams dating back to the 19th […]