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Breaking News: SMITH PLANT CANCELLED! Clean energy collaboration planned.
UPDATED: Check the bottom of this blog post for news updates as they come in.
We have some great news to announce: The coal-burning power plant proposed by the East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) has been canceled by the utility.
EKPC has entered into an agreement with Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, Kentucky Environmental Foundation, the Sierra Club, three individual co-op members, the Kentucky attorney general, and Gallatin Steel (EKPC’s biggest industrial customer). Under the agreement, EKPC will halt its plans for the proposed coal-burning power plant in Clark County by abandoning the permits it needed to proceed with construction. The cooperative also committed $125,000 toward a collaborative effort in which the public interest groups, EKPC and its member co-ops, and other parties will work together to evaluate and recommend new energy efficiency programs and renewable energy options.
This is a new day for Kentucky’s rural electric co-ops, and a great step toward new power for Kentucky. KFTC member Steve Wilkins, a Blue Grass Energy co-op member, has been active in the campaign to stop the Smith plant and bring new power to the co-ops. About today’s agreement, he said:
The Smith coal-fired plant meant nearly a billion-dollar investment and a further 50-year commitment to dirty power. Canceling the plant is a breath of fresh air. Even better, resources can now be redirected and the window opened to collaboration on clean energy alternatives letting the sun shine in on a New Power tomorrow; a tomorrow where rural electric cooperatives work shoulder-to-shoulder with their communities making electricity more affordable through energy-efficient housing and renewable energy sources.”
KFTC members, along with our allies at the Sierra Club and the Kentucky Environmental Foundation, have been very active in urging EKPC and the distribution cooperatives to pursue energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions instead of the Smith plant. Studies have shown that clean energy technologies would be a cost effective way to meet EKPC’s demand, while also reducing financial risk to customers, generating jobs throughout the region, and benefiting health and the environment.
KFTC members are excited by the news. Tona Barkley, a member of Owen Electric Cooperative who ran for her co-op board of directors earlier this year, shared her thoughts:
“I say Hallelujah! I believe this decision by EKPC is the right one for Kentucky. I am heartened by this new development and the commitment EKPC has made to work in a collaborative fashion with co-op members and the other parties to the agreement. This new openness and more democratic method will, I believe, help bring the co-ops back to their original purpose--serving its rural members in a transparent fashion. And I am very hopeful that this moment marks a turning point in Kentucky towards energy efficiency and renewal energy, both of which will provide economic and job development much greater than another coal plant would have done.”
The four main provisions of the today’s agreement include:
- EKPC will withdraw all the permits it needs for construction of the Smith plant, including its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, air permit and dredge-and-fill permit.
- EKPC will form a collaborative with KFTC, our allies, and other key stakeholders to expand the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency programs by the co-ops.
- KFTC and our allies will dismiss a number of lawsuits and administrative challenges that are currently pending against EKPC.
- KFTC and our allied groups will not oppose EKPC’s effort to recover costs already spent on the plant.
Many people involved with this campaign are especially delighted with EKPC’s agreement to lead and fund a collaborative effort to expand the co-op’s use of energy efficiency and renewable energy. This working group will include representatives from KFTC, our allies, the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General, the distribution co-ops, plus other key stakeholders. EKPC has agreed to provide initial funding for the collaborative’s efforts, including up to $100,000 for studies of wind resources or other forms of renewable energy. The group will meet at least quarterly to evaluate and recommend cost-effective clean energy solutions.
KFTC members earlier proposed a set of ideas in a plan called “Renew East Kentucky” that could become a focus for discussion within the collaborative. This plan describes clean energy strategies that could create thousands of new jobs in eastern and central Kentucky for construction trades, engineers and electricians, while also helping customers to save energy and money.
“Sometimes it can feel like you are a voice in the wilderness,” said KFTC member Randy Wilson, who emphasized energy efficiency during his run for Jackson Energy’s board of directors in 2009. “But it’s important to get involved and keep pushing for solutions. Now we have a chance to work together with the co-ops to create jobs here at home while at the same time helping people save energy and money.
Folks throughout Kentucky, both in the co-ops and out, have worked toward this moment. Each and every action you took helped create the conditions for this good outcome!
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100 - 200 folks attended the public hearings for the Smith plant’s air and dredge-and-fill permits, asking the agencies to consider the clean alternatives to the coal-burning plant
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KFTC members supported their fellow members who ran for their co-op boards of directors, helping to gather thousands of petition signatures and speaking up in support of democracy and clean energy in the co-ops
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Many of us throughout the region scheduled meetings with and made calls to their local co-op directors, informing them of alternatives to the Smith plant and moving some toward a cleaner energy vision
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Hundreds of Kentuckians sent letters to the Kentucky attorney general, asking him to speak up on behalf of Kentucky co-op members before the Public Service Commission
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Members throughout the state have spoken with their local media, offered quotes for news stories, been interviewed for radio shows, and sent in numerous letters to the editor and op eds in support of clean energy in the co-ops and a better Kentucky
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Members hosted house parties and spoke with neighbors, and groups, and colleges about the risk of the Smith plant and the potential for the clean energy alternative.
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And too much more to list here...
KFTC members have much to be proud of, and are thankful to our allies, including the Sierra Club and the Kentucky Environmental Foundation, who have recognized from the beginning that this hasn’t been a campaign simply to stop a coal plant, but a movement of Kentuckians taking action for clean energy and a better future for Kentucky.
Now we can all say, as Randy Wilson said at I Love Mountains Day two years ago, “We were there when we started to turn this thing around!”
As KFTC’s chair Steve Boyce has said, this is just the beginning of our work to bring New Power to the co-ops. Now is the time to celebrate this victory and help fund the work that lies ahead with your membership renewal or donation.
Please help KFTC continue to build new political power, new economic power, and new clean energy power for Kentuckians in 2011. Your investment in and support of this work is now more important than ever. Online donations can be made by clicking here.
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UPDATED: This section will be updated periodically with news coverage of the Smith plant cancellation.
- Nick Engelfried, Just Means, "Electricity Co-op Chooses 'New Power' over Coal Energy and Emissions." This blog post puts the Smith plant cancellation in a national context.
- Sue Sturgis, Yes! Magazine, "In Coal Country, a Win for Clean Energy." This blog was also posted on Facing South, the online magazine of the Institute for Southern Studies.
- Ronnie Ellis (with reporting from Bill Robinson), Richmond Register, "EKPC drops plans for coal-fired Clark County plant." This article also appeared in the Ashland Daily Independent, the Morehead News, and other papers throughout the state.
- James Bruggers, Louisville Courier Journal, "East Kentucky Power cancels Clark County plant" In this article, EKPC spokesperson Nick Comer said the decision was largely based on the economy, but "acknowledged that pressure from environmental groups played a role."
- Scott Sloan, Lexington Herald Leader, "East Ky. Power abandons plans for controversial power plant"
- Jeff Biggers, Huffington Post, "BREAKING: Kentucky Cancels Coal Plant, New Power Movement Electrifies Grassroot Alliance"
Error when trying to read agreement
Todd
the link
Couple of Questions
First question pertains to "Regulatory Asset". How will they recover the initial expenses? Is it by a rate increase? Or something that pertains to taxes (ie profits & losses)?
Second question, Collaborative to Address EKPC's Energy Diversification Portfolio. Any idea how far $100,000 will go in doing feasibility studies? How detailed will the studies be?
Thanks,
Todd
Questions
$100,000 is sufficient to do a detailed wind study at 100 meters--but no one yet knows exactly what sort of study or studies will be performed. That will be the early work of the collaborative. The group will work by consensus, so everyone at the table will have a say. And the meetings will also be open to the public, so the process should be as transparent as possible.
RE: Questions
So, the rate increase will be passed down to the end users (i.e. the customers)? Will this be a permanent increase (im sure it will be)?
Have you gotta any links to an example feasibility study? Just a quick look via google im finding it generally costs about $10,000 for a year long study. Does that sound about right?
Congratulations!
Repost this Blog?
Yes!
of course!
Go New Power!
Let the collaboration begin!
congratulations from Boston!
Great News Coverage and New Info
Also, in the Courier-Journal article, Nick Comer is quoted as giving a 2017 projection for additional power needs. We had been waiting for load projections which had repeatedly been postponed since June. This is the first we've heard related to those projections. We can push that date much further into the future if the promised collaborative bears the fruit we all hope and expect.
Great job and props to ALL the KFTC folks who helped make this happen. But, I give an extra special shout out to Sara P. Good on ya, mate!
Incredible!
Great Step for our Green Future
way to go!
Smith Plant Cancelled
No hydropower!
wish you would make up your mind
Hydro
Plant will be built
How much coal is there, really
The Energy Information Administration data on estimated recoverable reserves suggest over 100 years of remaining Kentucky coal. But EIA states in its report “US Coal Reserves: 1997 Update” that: The usual understanding of the term “reserves” as referring to quantities that can be recovered at a sustainable profit cannot technically be extended to EIA’s estimated recoverable reserves because economic and engineering data to project mining and development costs and coal resource market values are not available.
For Kentucky, EIA estimates only about 19 years of recoverable coal from existing mines based on current rates of removal; the rest of the recoverable reserves would require opening new mines. A 2000 U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) report estimated that only nine percent of the remaining coal resources in Central Appalachia are economically recoverable. It concludes: “much of the remaining coal in all five coal beds and zones is thinner (<3.5 ft.) and deeper (>1,000 ft.) than the coal that has been mined.” The USGS report says only that mining in the region “will continue throughout this decade and into the next given market conditions.”
Nationally
A review of existing information from three different agencies of the federal government demonstrates that the oft-touted “200 year supply of U.S. coal” is not based on a realistic assessment of the quantity of coal that is likely to be accessible at a reasonable cost both, in dollars and to the environment.
With 268 billion tons underground, EIA estimates the U.S. has enough to last 226 years (at current consumption levels). However, their estimates of economically-recoverable coal figures on the order of 25 years for the U.S. The United States Geological Survey has published a series of reports demonstrating that the quantity of economically-recoverable coal is typically less than 20% of the original assessment. A USGS August 2008 assessment of the Gillette coalfield of the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, the source of about 40% of U.S. coal, found that just 6% of the coal was economically-accessible under the economic conditions at the time of the report. Moreover, between 2002 and 2008, while coal costs were rising dramatically, the USGS reduced the estimates of the economically-accessible coal in the Gillette field from 23 to 10 billion tons.3
A review of U.S. Bureau of Land Management data indicates that the largest mines in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin have less than a 20-year life span. Importantly, the U.S. government owns most of the coal in the western U. S. and future western coal mine expansions will be subject to a variety of federal and state laws governing the leasing and extraction of the coal
YES good news for coal and coal fired plants
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield (KY-01) today was named chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Power of the full House Energy and Commerce Committee. Whitfield was chosen to fill this position by the newly named full committee chairman, Representative Fred Upton (MI-06).
The Subcommittee has jurisdiction over a number of federal agencies and issues that play a major role in the nation's energy policy. Some of the issues falling under the committee's authority include the Department of Energy, nuclear power, the national power grid system, the Clean Air Act and other issues directly related to the coal industry.
"I am pleased to call upon Congressman Whitfield to serve as chairman of the Energy and Power Subcommittee next Congress," Upton said. "As a Member from an energy-producing state and a champion of an 'all of the above' energy policy, Congressman Whitfield brings a unique perspective to the committee as we seek to reduce our dependency on foreign energy sources and fortify our nation's energy security."
"I thank Congressman Upton for calling on me to undertake this important role in the new Congress," said Whitfield. "We must embrace an all of the above energy policy that includes natural gas, nuclear, coal and domestic resource exploration. With an all of the above strategy, we can safely and responsibly develop our own natural energy resources and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy - both of which are essential to our national security."
As subcommittee chair, Whitfield said he would focus part of the committee's efforts toward delaying the implementation of a clean air transport rule being put forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The rule would impose stricter emission standards on 31 states including Kentucky and would have a devastating impact on jobs. When fully implemented on EPA's current time schedule, some estimates suggest electricity rates may increase by as much as 30 percent in some areas. Further, EPA has yet to explain adequately to Congress the details of how it will comply with the U.S. Court of Appeals case North Carolina v. EPA, decided July 11, 2008. In the 112th Congress, Whitfield says he expects a regular and more extensive dialogue with EPA on these important issues.
In addition, under the Clean Air Act, EPA is proposing to limit carbon emissions. Whitfield is concerned that the Obama administration is trying to circumvent the role of Congress and the will of the people by pushing their climate change agenda forward through the regulation of carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act. EPA's findings do not accurately take into consideration the impact these new regulations will have on jobs, and what it will cost for individuals and businesses to meet these requirements. Further, EPA has not provided Congress with compelling scientific evidence to pursue its ambitious regulation plan.
"EPA is tasked with protecting our environment under the Clean Air Act and in most situations, they are required to evaluate the impact their regulations will have on the economy, jobs, and the everyday expenses of Americans," said Whitfield. "When EPA fails to adequately do this, the result is job loss and lost economic opportunity that slows our recovery."
Home to some of the largest domestic coal reserves, Kentucky also hosts the nation's only enrichment facility producing uranium for nuclear power plants, located in Paducah. With these assets, Kentucky is poised to play a major role in meeting America's growing energy demands. As subcommittee chair, Whitfield also intends to examine ways to expedite the permitting process for new coal and nuclear power plants, both of which could play an increased role in a domestic energy policy.
"We should also be examining what role reprocessing spent nuclear fuel may play in meeting our domestic energy needs," said Whitfield. "Making it easier to expand the use of nuclear and other domestic energy resources should be one of our top priorities."
In addition, Whitfield is keenly aware that natural gas must play a role as an important part of any domestic energy policy debate. Domestic sources of energy such as natural gas and others employ countless Americans and provide a domestic energy supply that helps ensure our national security.
"America must develop its own energy resources so that it can grow much needed jobs. Further, utilizing our domestic sources and doing so responsibly can help ensure our national security by removing the need for us to buy our energy from countries that may not always be friendly to us," said Whitfield.
Whitfield will take over the Subcommittee upon the commencement of the 112th Congress in January, 2011.
Rock!