Energy
Microvast confirms it won’t develop battery technology plant in Hopkinsville
Microvast Holdings Inc.?has announced it won’t proceed with plans for a battery technology plant in Hopkinsville — a project that would have brought a $504 million investment and more than 500 jobs to Commerce Park II. A press release issued Friday from the Texas-based company says the project is off “at least for now.” The […]
Methane from underground coal mines upends rural West Virginians’ lives, livelihoods
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. THORNTON, WEST VIRGINIA.—Month-old kittens scamper around, tumbling into one another on the grass. A black-and-white border collie, Maggie, nestles against the side of a […]
State regulator threatens Kentucky Power with fines for 2022 winter storm performance
Kentucky’s utility regulator is asking Kentucky Power why it shouldn’t face fines for failing to prepare for a power supply shortfall ahead of the December 2022 winter storm. The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) in a June 23 order alleged Kentucky Power had violated a state law that requires utilities to “furnish adequate, efficient and […]
Drought hits the Midwest, threatening crops and the world’s food supply
City leaders in Storm Lake, a rural community of 11,000 in Northwest Iowa, are asking residents not to wash their cars or water their yards and gardens during the hottest part of the day. The city also has cut back on watering public recreational spaces, such as ballfields and golf courses. These are highly unusual […]
Statehouses debate who should build EV charging networks
Though they only make up a fraction of cars and trucks on the road now, many projections — from Wall Street firms, trade groups and automakers themselves — predict an imminent surge in electric vehicles over the next decade. S&P Global estimates that the nearly 2 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads today will grow […]
How Kentucky generates electricity — and emits tons of greenhouse gasses
A recent state analysis found that, unlike a number of states that have pivoted to other fuel sources, Kentucky utilities still burn coal to generate the large majority of electricity in the state. The latest Kentucky Energy Profile report published this week by the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet provides a snapshot of how major […]
As Kentucky’s largest coal producer mines Bitcoin, its power discounts draw scrutiny
Union County in Western Kentucky has been the state’s top coal-producer for years, mining more than 10 million tons in 2022. Something else is being mined in Union County: Bitcoin. In both cases, the mining is done by Alliance Resource Partners (ARP) headed by Joseph Craft III, whose wife Kelly Craft, just lost an expensive […]
More than 100 ‘orphan’ wells in Daniel Boone National Forest to be plugged, remediated with federal money
A new influx of federal money is planned to plug and remediate more than 100 abandoned oil and gas well sites in the Daniel Boone National Forest, a part of a broader effort to address so-called “orphan” wells on federal lands and waters across the country.? A release Thursday from the U.S. Department of the […]
‘Something has to change’: Kentucky’s utility regulator faces more work with fewer staff
FRANKFORT — Kentucky’s utility regulator is responsible for managing a larger, more complex caseload despite having a diminished and less experienced staff than in the past, its chairman told lawmakers Wednesday.? The Kentucky Public Service Commission regulates the rates and services of more than 1,100 utilities, ranging from massive investor-owned electric providers like Kentucky Power […]
Decarbonization ambitions ignite debate over mining, permitting
The decarbonized, electrified future envisioned by the Biden administration, state governments, automakers, utility companies and corporate sustainability goals depends to a huge degree on minerals and metals. Lots more lithium will be needed for car and truck batteries, as well as the big banks of batteries that are increasingly popping onto the electric grid to […]
Mountain Valley Pipeline approvals OKed as part of debt ceiling deal
The controversial 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline, which would carry natural gas from shale fields in West Virginia to southern Virginia, received federal support for completion Thursday after the U.S. Senate approved a debt ceiling deal that includes a provision requiring fast-tracked approvals for the project, despite opposition from some members of Virginia’s congressional delegation. Both […]
Toyota’s first electric vehicle factory in the US will be in Kentucky at its Georgetown plant
In what Gov. Andy Beshear called an “enormous” economic development announcement for Kentucky, Toyota plans to establish its first electric car manufacturing facility in the United States at its plant in Scott County.? The Georgetown factory, which has manufactured millions of cars since 1988, plans to retain nearly 9,000 employees to manufacture electric SUVs as […]