Energy Transition and Advocacy
Public Hearings Continue on our Energy Future
First, we want to thank all our members and allies for coming out to the first two public meetings on LG&E/KU’s proposal to retire four coal-fired electric generating units and three natural gas simple cycle combustion turbine units and replace them with two natural gas combined cycle facilities, two solar facilities, one battery storage facility, and four solar power purchase agreements.
If you did not get a chance to comment, there’s still time! The next meetings will be held:
Madisonville In-Person Meeting: Monday, August 14, 2023, 5:30 p.m. Eastern time/4:30 p.m. Central time: Hopkins County Government Center, 56 N. Main Street, Madisonville, KY
Louisville In-Person Meeting: Wednesday, August 16, 2023, 5:30 p.m. Eastern time: Louisville Free Public Library, Main Branch, 301 York St., Community Room 202, Louisville, KY
Virtual Meeting: Tuesday, August 15, 2023, 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. Directions to participate will be on the PSC website https://psc.ky.gov/prior to August 15, 2023.
We urge you to comment on this important proposal. KCC is a member of the Kentuckians for Energy Democracy coalition who has prepared suggestions for comments here.
Interim Session Highlights:
Energy reliability, affordability and sustainability continue to be a major conversation in legislative committees, including last Thursday’s Interim Joint Committee on Natural Resources & Energy, where they reviewed information from the PJM regional transmission organization and their recommendations for ensuring a reliable energy transition. (PJM territory covers many parts of the central and eastern regions in Kentucky). The presentation stated that the growth rate of electricity demand is likely to continue to increase due to electrification trends coupled with the proliferation of high-demand data centers in their territory, and that retirements of older fossil/thermal resources are at risk for outpacing new resources—however the PJM representative felt their regional transmission organization was positioned better than most to manage that risk. See testimony here.
As interim sessions continue, we reviewed presentations this week from the Interim Joint Committee on Economic Development that included presentations from Kentuckians for Better Transportation, representing the aviation industry, the rail industry, public transit as well as the highway, road, and bridge construction and barge industry, highlighting the importance of a multimodal, interconnected transportation network.
The focus on our freight transportation infrastructure has come more to the forefront due to economic development projects related to the growth of the electric vehicle industry in the state. This past week, lawmakers heard from representatives of riverports in Owesnboro, Hickman/Fulton County and Eddyville on the need for infrastructure investments in Kentucky’s riverports, citing the demands of the aluminum industry in the western parts of the state. Kentucky has now seen $10.7 billion in Electric Vehicle related investments since 2020, according to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.
Another transportation issue that came up this past week was from last Tuesday’s Interim Joint Committee on Transportation, where the committee heard an overview of “Renewable Aviation Fuel” or “Sustainable Aviation Fuel” —also referred to as “SAF.” This is being discussed as a way to reduce carbon emissions in the aviation transportation sector.
While the presentation was light on the details about how SAF might be produced in Kentucky, we found that by definition, SAF can be produced from non-petroleum-based renewable feedstocks including, but not limited to, the food and yard waste portion of municipal solid waste, woody biomass, fats/greases/oils, as well as other feedstocks.
These fuel alternatives are attractive to the aviation industry because they reduce carbon with little changes to the current technology— SAF can be blended to jet fuel with no modifications (up to 50% blend). Therefore, many companies see SAF blending as a major part of their strategy to lower carbon.
However, if the plan is for SAF to be produced by plant materials, there are still emissions in the refining process, and the use of feedstock plants would have their own carbon reduction value. And of course the impact on natural habitats where the raw materials are sourced. So we at KCC are continuing to evaluate policies related to this emerging industry.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, producers of SAF are eligible for a tax credit of $1.25 per gallon. Qualifying SAF must reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50%. These incentives are available through 2025.
While the transportation meetings this past week were focused on SAF, the aviation industry has also been looking at Gaseous hydrogen, which may be used for short-haul aircraft and liquid hydrogen as a possibility for long-haul aircraft.
Lately, KCC has also been studying more of these “hard to decarbonize” industrial sectors such as steel, aluminum and cement. Hard-to-abate industries like these use carbon as an integral part of their process, and altogether can account for about 30% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.
Upcoming Events And Announcements:
There’s still time to participate in “Solarize” projects in Kentucky, but you must act NOW!
Solarize Lexington’s next workshop is Tuesday, August 8th at 7 PM. The program helps households reduce their reliance on the electric grid by making it easier to install solar photovoltaics (PV). The program is open to all homeowners in Lexington-Fayette County. Other property owners (non-profits, small businesses, places of worship) are also welcome to apply. Participants are responsible for the (discounted) cost of solar panels and installation.
And the enrollment deadline for Solarize Frankfort is August 11th, so if you live in the Frankfort area and want to explore solar for your home, you must act soon! Link here.
“Get Out the Vote” and Voter Engagement Activities— Join in!
Are you interested in assisting with projects to help “get out the vote”? Then contact KCC! We’ll be doing some phone banking activities in the fall, and would love to hear from you if you are interested in assisting! We will also be doing some projects involving nonpartisan voter outreach. Contact us!