September News and Events
It was great seeing you all at last week's Wild and Scenic Film Festival! (Auction Ends This Saturday, 8PM)
It was great seeing so many of our members and supporters, plus NEW friends, at last week's Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Lexington. If this was your first time joining us, we hope you will check out our website and learn more about the Kentucky Conservation Committee and our mission to be your environmental champion in Frankfort. Our thanks once again to our lead sponsor this year, Republic Bank. We hope you support Republic as well as our many other Festival sponsors.
And there's still time to bid on items in our Foundation’s Online Auction, from now till 8PM this Saturday, September 7th. Get those last bids in now!
Updates on Federal and State Initiatives
New Clean Energy Investments for Kentucky
This week, it was announced that 23 states are expected to receive federal investments in clean energy through the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program, designed to help rural America transition to clean, affordable and reliable energy. The funding was available to member-owned rural electric cooperatives as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, and represents the largest investment in rural electrification since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936.
The first round of awards announced this week include Eastern Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC), where KCC played a role in presenting information to the utility in June of 2023 compiled by our partners at the Sierra Club to help EKPC leverage the New ERA program funding—including how to build an energy portfolio that could be cleaner and more affordable.
EKPC will use this New ERA investment to construct or procure 757 megawatts of renewable energy for rural portions of Kentucky, as well as improve the regional transmission grid to support renewable projects and increase energy efficiency. These efforts also will reduce pollution – including carbon dioxide emissions - by over 2.3 million tons annually, the equivalent of avoiding the pollution from 554,000 gasoline-powered cars annually.
“New ERA funding will help EKPC cost-effectively lower the carbon intensity of the electricity it generates for 1.1. million Kentucky residents and thousands of businesses, bolstering our mission of providing reliable, cost-competitive and sustainable energy for Kentucky,” said East Kentucky Power Cooperative President and CEO Tony Campbell.
Wildlife-Friendly Program Advances
We were also excited this week to learn about the latest phase from KCC’s multi-year effort to promote the federal Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program — a program initiated through the Infrastructure and Jobs Act, where KCC had initiated meetings with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) to provide information and models that would assist the Cabinet with an application, resulting in a $1.2 million award to the state in 2023. KYTC was one of 17 states to receive this new federal grant. The Wildlife Corridor Pilot Project aims at making roadways safer for people and wildlife. The award will fund a Wildlife-Vehicle Collision Reduction Plan and Pilot Study in central Kentucky. We received word this week that the Cabinet will hold its first kick-off meeting this fall to discuss the state project’s vision and goals. We will keep you posted as this work progresses.
Frankfort Plant Board Expands Solar Net Metering Policy
The Frankfort Plant Board has approved an amendment to their net metering policy that expands access to solar energy for FPB customers. The new policy allows net metering customers to transfer excess solar kWh credits to other electric accounts owned by the same customer, if the account is for an electric service on the same continuous parcel and one account is residential. This will be helpful to customers who have multiple buildings and meters on their property, especially when their main residence is not suitable for installing solar panels.
For example, this will allow someone who has a barn with good solar access but minimal electric use to install solar panels on the barn and transfer solar credits to their house meter.
“This is an important policy change by the FPB that will make solar accessible to more Frankfort residents,” said Andy McDonald, Coordinator for Solarize Frankfort. “There are already several people who have enrolled in Solarize Frankfort who will be helped by this new policy. Solarize Frankfort appreciates the FPB’s responsiveness to their customer’s concerns and their support for customers seeking to use solar power.”
We thank KCC's former President Andy McDonald who was instrumental in advancing this pro-solar policy.
Legislative Updates
While activity at the Capitol had been slow both before and after the Labor Day holiday, KCC has continued to work with our members and supporters to set up visits with lawmakers, and check in with partner groups to review their environmental priorities. If you have issues you want to discuss with lawmakers, we can help! Contact us!
The Interim Session committee calendar can be found here.
"Protect our Schools" Campaign Update
This week, a coalition of public education advocates and allied organizations (including KCC) committed to defeating Amendment 2 (A.K.A. the Voucher Amendment), and announced over 100+ statewide endorsements demonstrating the strength and expansiveness of our campaign. KCC is part of this initiative due to the impact that the amendment could have on environmental education programs. Learn more at https://protectourschoolsky.com/
Important Voter Deadlines and Upcoming Events:
The registration deadline for the 2024 General Election is October 7, 2024 4:00 p.m.
And the date of the 2024 General Election is November 5, 2024. Registration is easy, and you can find all the information you need at this link!
September 26: Kentucky Climate Symposium, University of Kentucky.
October 26: Louisville Earth Walk - Shawnee Park, Louisville. This is an event in support of dozens of environmental nonprofits including KCC!
Tell us Your KCC History Stories!
Next year, the Kentucky Conservation Committee will soon celebrate its 50th Anniversary. We want to be able to celebrate not only the history of this organization, but all of YOU and our partner groups who contributed to our advocacy work during these last five decades.
Submit Your Story Information HERE!