Energy
Kentucky’s largest utility will retire some coal-fired power, boost renewable energy
Kentucky’s utility regulator has given a green light to plans by the state’s largest utility to retire some of its coal-fired generation, build? a natural gas-fired plant in Jefferson County and add renewable energy to its power generation portfolio.? Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities (LG&E and KU) had asked the Kentucky Public Service […]
How to weigh in on Kentucky Power’s proposed 18% rate increase
The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) is hosting multiple public meetings the next few weeks to receive input on electric utility Kentucky Power’s request to raise utility bills for the utility’s average residential customer by about 18%.? Kentucky Power, an investor-owned utility serving about 163,000 customers in 20 Eastern Kentucky counties, already has the highest […]
Two words rarely heard on Kentucky’s campaign trail: Climate change
PROVIDENCE — Walking through a bathhouse at what until a few years ago was Webster County’s last operating coal mine is not just a moment for Tony Felker to revisit memories. It is also a window into a way of life that he recognizes is disappearing. Felker is quick to rattle through the nearly four […]
Energy tech testbed to develop projects on 65K acres in Virginia’s Wise County
A public-private initiative that aims to test out emerging energy technologies on Southwest Virginia lands formerly mined for coal has signed an agreement to develop its projects on 65,000 acres primarily located in Wise County that are owned by a major natural gas and pipeline company. The deal, announced by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office […]
‘Stackable’ tax credits for smaller renewable energy projects could benefit Eastern Kentucky
A new federal tax credit program to help nonprofits and local governments afford to build small-scale renewable energy projects could benefit communities in Eastern Kentucky and Appalachia in particular, according to an advocate familiar with the program.? Applications for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program opened earlier this month. The program […]
Federal funding is helping set up electric vehicle chargers across Kentucky
More electric vehicle (EV) chargers are being planned along major transportation corridors in Kentucky with the help of federal grant funding.? A release from Gov. Andy Beshear’s Office Monday states eight more EV chargers are being built near cities across the state from Calvert City to London through funding from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure […]
Lawmakers want answers on damage and costs linked to idled ‘zombie’ coal mines
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. It is republished with permission. Sign up for their newsletter here.? Lawmakers, including Kentucky’s lone Democrat in Congress, are asking for a federal investigation into the full extent of environmental damage caused by what are […]
‘So many ways hydrogen can go wrong’: Hub announcements viewed with caution
The Friday announcement that seven projects had been selected to receive $7 billion in seed money to kickstart the production of clean hydrogen across the country was billed by President Joe Biden’s administration as a major step toward slashing carbon emissions, creating thousands of domestic jobs and positioning the U.S. as a clean energy leader. […]
Wolfe judge-exec says noise barrier planned for suspected crypto ‘mine’
Wolfe County Judge-Executive Raymond Banks says a Houston company running a new data center — suspected to be a cryptocurrency mining facility — in his Eastern Kentucky county plans to erect a barrier to dampen its constant noise which has drawn complaints from neighbors for weeks. But Banks says he opposes calls for the county […]
Lack of oversight on transmission spending leads to higher electric bills, consumer advocate says
Electric customers have fallen into a “regulatory gap” that’s allowed billions of dollars of transmission construction to happen without oversight of need, prudence or cost effectiveness, according to a complaint filed with federal regulators by the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel. And though the complaint to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was made on […]
In a rural Kentucky community, the roar of a suspected crypto ‘mine’ never ends
WOLFE COUNTY — She couldn’t see it through the trees on a recent late September morning, but she’s felt its presence for weeks on end.? Up the hill across from her home along the Wolfe-Lee county line, 76-year-old Brenda Campbell can hear through the leaves a constant, high-pitched whirring that rivals the cicada screeches in […]
Pike County crypto mining operation approved for electricity discounts with conditions
Kentucky’s utility regulator approved last week more than $2.5 million in electricity discounts over several years from utility Kentucky Power to a cryptocurrency mining operation in Pike County.? As? part of its approval, the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) is requiring Kentucky Power follow several conditions to make sure the costs of the discounts given […]