Who Do You Rely On?
News of the week: Among the many discussions in the Natural Resources & Energy Committee in the legislature and the Public Service Commission, the issue of “reliability” of our energy systems has been a constant theme, played out during the past legislative session with the passage of SB4, which created new hurdles for the retirement of a gas or coal-fired electric generating units based on demonstrating reliability. While this issue has been a dialogue for some time, the rhetoric was accelerated after Kentucky’s rolling blackout warnings during last December’s Winter Storm Elliott. But we noticed the rhetoric has become even more heated when the Kentucky Coal Association took on one of KCC’s allies head-on a few weeks ago in the Frankfort State-Journal, with an editorial entitled “Lies and the Sierra Club.” The only problem was: the event that drove this editorial was factual information confirmed by witnesses under sworn testimony, discussing LG&E’s own after-action report about the failures during a recent hearing before the Public Service Commission. You may read the Kentucky Sierra Club’s rebuttal here. But it’s not just nonprofit groups who have been feeling the heat on this issue. The trade group America’s Power has been running an aggressive campaign called “Dependable Power First” defending coal-based power in Kentucky as the dependable source of power for the state and has been criticizing local media for their coverage on the issue.
Meanwhile, the clean energy transition continues….in the spirit of Drive Electric week, Governor Beshear announced another significant investment in the clean transportation economy, the announcement of a $65.8 million lithium-ion battery recycling facility slated for Hopkinsville. And during the state’s upcoming “Governor’s Conference on Energy and the Environment,” our allies from the Evolve Electric Vehicle Group will be on site with their electric car demonstrations. The conference will be held from October 15-17 in Lexington.
Meanwhile, KCC has been continuing their visits with lawmakers and city leaders to discuss the fairness of fees that will soon be enacted on electric vehicles and their charging infrastructure, as outlined in this recent op-ed by Stuart Ungar, “Kentucky Should Incentivize EV Ownership and Charging Stations, Not Add New Road Taxes.” While KCC believes all users of the road should pay their fair share, we still believe the fees disproportionally target these efficient vehicles compared to their internal combustion engine counterparts and depress the much-needed buildout of local community charging infrastructure.
KCC Out and About
We hope to see you at this Sunday’s Paddle for a Purpose, event to take place this Sunday, October 1st. We will be part of their After Paddle Party at Frankfort’s Riverview Park, where there will be food trucks, live music, educational booths and more, in support of Woods and Waters Land Trust. The After Paddle event will start around 4:30 as boaters roll off of the water.
And then, we hope you will join us for these next two events, KCC’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Lexington (and “virtual at home”) on Friday, October 20th and the Louisville Earth Walk on Saturday, October 28th.
Announcements:
Request for Proposals- Kentucky Land Trust Coalition Program Manager. The Kentucky Land Trusts Coalion (KLTC) is excited to solicit proposals for the role of our first Program Manager. KLTC is a 15-year-old organization that is a 501(c)3 non-profit. We are seeking proposals for a contracted role, to serve under the supervision of the KLTC executve committee and directly under the president of KLTC. More info here.