LEXINGTON, KY - Less than 25 miles north of the Kentucky line on US 23, government and energy officials with strong ties to the commonwealth announced plans for a new power plant that when complete would provide carbon-free electricity to 1.5 million homes - including some possibly in Kentucky - even though building this type of power plant is forbidden by Kentucky law.
Under a 1984 act of the legislature, state lawmakers placed a moratorium on the construction of any nuclear power plants in the state until a federal high level waste facility such as Yucca Mountain was available to store spent nuclear waste. And while the prohibition is still on in Kentucky, other states are moving forward with plans to bring the much maligned energy source of the '70s and '80s back to life in an era when CO2 emissions are coming under threat of taxation due to environmental concerns.
"You have to be almost a Neanderthal today to deny the fact that human activity is involved in global warming," said Ohio Governor Ted Strickland who, along with fellow UK graduate and Duke Energy CEO James Rogers, announced plans for the new 1,600-megawatt nuclear power plant along the Scioto River in Piketon, Ohio. "Nuclear power does not solve the problem of global warming but I think it should be a part of the answer," said Strickland, who spent around a decade in the Bluegrass receiving an undergrad degree in history from Asbury before attending the Asbury Theological Seminary and UK for postgraduate work.
In November Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear along with Energy and Environmental Cabinet Secretary Leonard Peters recommended bringing Kentucky's 25-year-old nuclear energy moratorium to an end as a part of Beshear's 144-page comprehensive energy plan.
Business Lexington
"We do feel nuclear is something we have to have a very serious conversation about within the state," Peters told this week. "The thing about nuclear that is so important is that ... the heavy burden is the upfront construction costs, not the ongoing fuel costs Ö It gives you a surprising degree of electricity rate stability as you move forward. It may be a little bit higher in the beginning, but it does give you that stability and the reliability."
(Read the June 26 Business Lexington for a greater look into all of Kentucky's energy possibilities as Waxman-Markey inches toward approval.)
Kentucky currently gets more than 90 percent of its energy generation from coal, which not only has low costs associated with it, but is a major part of the state's economy. However, the Waxman-Markey Bill currently being debated in Congress aims at taxing carbon-emitting sources, which would mean an increase in Kentucky's energy costs.
"In today's market people should not view, especially in Kentucky, if we were to move forward with nuclear, that (as being) anti-coal in anyway whatsoever. It really is pro-manufacturing, so we have low electricity rates and can attract the sort of industries that we have," Peters said.