Kentucky Senate Unanimously Advances Nuclear Energy Development Bill

Legislation to create a new state agency on nuclear energy advanced unanimously off the Senate floor Monday. Senate Bill 198 would establish the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority to support and facilitate the development of a nuclear energy ecosystem across the state.  

A 30-member advisory board comprised of government leaders, energy experts, and others would oversee the agency. It would be attached to the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research for administrative purposes.

The bill reflects work from a nuclear energy work group that brought together academics, utility and nuclear experts, and environmental advocates to study the issue in 2023. Once created, the authority would study workforce and educational needs to support the nuclear ecosystem in Kentucky. It would also oversee a site suitability study to identify potential locations for nuclear reactors and facilities.

Among many other provisions, the bill also calls for the Cabinet for Economic Development to create and implement a financial assistance program fund for nuclear energy-related projects.

Gov. Beshear, Officials Break Ground on First EV Charging Station in Southeastern U.S. Supported by Federal Program

Gov. Andy Beshear joined Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Administrator Shailen Bhatt and several state and local officials at Circle K in Richmond on Feb. 19th to break ground on the first electric vehicle (EV) fast charging station in the southeastern United States built with federal funds from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program. Gov. Beshear also announced that more progress is ahead as Kentucky is again seeking proposals to install up to 16 additional stations along Kentucky’s interstates and parkways using NEVI funding. The groundbreaking begins the first phase of the state’s EV Charging Program, which aims to add up to 40 new fast charging stations by 2025 along Kentucky’s interstates and parkways.

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US DOE Announces $72M to KY for BIL-funded Carbon Capture Large Scale Project

Kentucky was awarded $72 million to deploy a carbon capture system at PPL Corporation, at subsidiaries Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utility companies' Cane Run Generating Station, a natural gas combined-cycle power plant. The Carbon Capture Pilot at Cane Run Unit 7 uses an advanced heat-integrated CO2 capture technology developed by the University of Kentucky. The project will expand existing training and internship programs to create a project workforce development plan.

Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these large-scale pilot projects, located at power and industrial sites in Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas, and Wyoming, have the potential to prevent more than 500,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions from being released into the atmosphere each year, an amount equivalent to the combined annual emissions of more than 110,000 gasoline-powered cars.

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Applications Accepted for U.S. DOE 2024 Recognition Program for Schools

The U.S. Department of Energy's Efficient and Healthy Schools Program aims to recognize schools and districts for improving their energy performance, advancing resilience, and promoting a healthy learning environment. Kentucky schools are invited to join a growing network applying for recognition. The deadline to apply is April 5, 2024. An upcoming working session on February 29th at 2 pm ET provides support and technical guidance.

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EPA's Home Heating Fuel Use Web Application Update

The American Community Survey (ACS) asks questions about home heating fuel to create statistics about home energy use. EPA’s Home Heating Fuel Use web application displays ACS’s 5-year average House Heating Fuel data for all census tracts in the United States. The latest update to EPA’s web application incorporates ACS home heating data up to 2022. Users can find census-tract level use data on natural gas, electricity, propane, wood, solar, and fuel oil/kerosene.

Commercial Advanced Nuclear Fuel Arrives in Idaho for Testing

For the first time in two decades, Idaho National Laboratory, the nation’s nuclear energy laboratory, has received a shipment of used next-generation light water reactor fuel from a commercial nuclear power plant to support research and testing.

In December, INL received 25 experimental fuel rods irradiated in the reactor core of a commercial reactor. The fuel rods were developed and manufactured by Westinghouse Electric Company with technical assistance from several national laboratories, including INL.

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EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey Dashboard

This interactive dashboard application includes state-level estimates for selected residential site energy consumption, expenditures, and household characteristics information from the 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey.

These visualizations include U.S. maps, charts, and data for 20 different estimates, providing both a national view of energy usage and state-specific data.

SOAR

Shaping our Appalachian Region

Shaping Our Appalachian Region is a nonprofit serving the 54 Appalachian Regional Commission counties of Eastern Kentucky. Born from the economic fallout of the coal industry, Shaping Our Appalachian Region’s mission today is to solve the deep-seated issue of population retention and growth in Eastern Kentucky.