Lexington, KY – Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities has decided not build a 700-megawatt generating natural gas plant in Muhlenberg County that it announced plans to build in January.
The need for the for the facility that was to go online by 2018 and cost approximately $700 million, was based in part on energy forecasts through 2035 that included serving the municipal customers that have decided to no longer contract with the utility, a release from KU states.
Nine municipal utility customers have informed KU that they would terminate their wholesale power contracts with the utility in 2019. Those contracts totaled approximately 320 megawatts of peak demand.
“We’ve analyzed the situation carefully and believe that it is in the best interest of all of our customers to withdraw our current application for the natural gas combined-cycle unit in Western Kentucky,” said Paul W. Thompson, chief operating officer. “Removing more than 300 megawatts of demand changes our load forecasts and thus delays the need for new generation.”
KU stated it will continue forward with plans to built a 10-megawatt solar facility in Mercer County that pending approval is slated to go online in 2016.