The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet (EEC) and the Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) at the University of Kentucky (UK) have announced a collaborative project focused on mine methane (CH4) emissions in the state. Developed in response to Kentucky’s new energy strategy, KYE3: Designs for a Resilient Economy​​, the project will measure methane emissions from underground mine ventilation and other mine-related sources using a combination of aircraft, drones and vehicles. The EEC plans to use the data to explore how methane, a potent greenhouse gas, may be captured for methane-related economic development opportunities such as local electricity generation or renewable natural gas and carbon offset markets.

“This is an excellent example of collaboration and how the KYE3 energy strategy addresses energy, environment and economic development — three issues that are inextricably linked,” said Kenya Stump, executive director of the EEC’s Office of Energy Policy. Read the full story here.

The Kentucky Office of Energy Policy and the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN), established by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy, announce a partnership to explore future energy systems for the Bluegrass State. This partnership will develop a webinar series to examine the challenges, opportunities and innovations needed to develop future energy scenarios for Kentucky.

The DOE-NE established the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) to provide the nuclear community with access to the technical, regulatory, and financial support necessary to move innovative nuclear energy technologies toward commercialization while ensuring the continued safe, reliable, and economic operation of the existing nuclear fleet. Read the full article.

Gov. Andy Beshear announced on February 10 that Kentucky can receive as much as $10,280,470 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for fiscal year 2022 to deploy electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The money is part of $5 billion available to states over the next five years under the new federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. States must submit an EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan before they can access these funds. A second, competitive grant program designed to further increase EV charging access in locations throughout the country, including in rural and underserved communities, will be announced later this year. The Federal Highway Administration will issue guidance on how states can apply for the funding in the coming months. Read the full press release.

Kentucky OEP Executive Director addressed these and other questions during a recent meeting of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Stakeholder group for anyone interested in economic development and investment in Central Appalachia. Aviation is a signature industry and economic driver for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. At Kentucky’s three largest commercial airports employment exceeds 134,000, a figure that includes the significant and growing impacts of three global air cargo hubs: UPS Worldport, DHL’s Superhub for the Americas, and KCVG—Amazon Air’s largest hub. This activity results in an annual economic impact exceeding $18.27 billion. Between Louisville Muhammad Ali International (SDF)—North America’s 2nd busiest cargo airport—and CVG Airport—now the 7th largest cargo airport in North America—more than $480 million in tax revenues are generated for the Commonwealth and local communities every year. A fact sheet has been prepared by the Kentucky sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition. Note, sharing of the information is not an endorsement of any policies, programs, or incentives. The OEP participation in these meetings is not an endorsement of any organization or group.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions invited Kentucky Chamber President and CEO Ashli Watts and leaders from other states to discuss workforce opportunities and barriers. During her testimony, Watts said Kentucky is seeing “too many people without jobs and too many jobs without people” and detailed the programs the Kentucky Chamber and the Kentucky Chamber Foundation are undertaking to address the critical workforce shortages within the Commonwealth. Read the full article here.

Responses are due March 8 for the Hydrogen Hubs Implementation Strategy RFI, and March 29 is the deadline for the Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing, Recycling and Electrolysis RFI. Learn more.

U.S. DOE and U.S. DOT recently released guidance on the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law). The NEVI Formula Program will provide dedicated funding to states to strategically deploy electric vehicle charging infrastructure and establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability.

The total amount available to states in Fiscal Year 2022 under the NEVI Formula Program is $615 million. States must submit an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan by August 1 before they can access these funds. A separate, competitive grant program designed to further increase electric vehicle charging access in locations throughout the country, including in rural and underserved communities, will be announced later this year. For more information, review the White House Fact Sheet on actions taken to date to prepare for this historic electric vehicle investment.

(Courtesy of TDEC Office of Energy Programs newsletter.)

White House Releases Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Guidebook

The White House released the first edition of its Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act guidebook to help tribal, state, local, and territorial governments unlock benefits from the recent historic investments in the nation's infrastructure. The guidebook is a one-stop shop on the law and contains the most comprehensive information to date on the more than 375 programs included in the legislation. The White House has also published an accompanying data file that allows users to quickly sort programs funded under the law by fields like agency, amount, recipient, or program name. Future phases of the guidebook will update due dates, key timelines for program implementation, best practices, case studies, and links to key resources developed by the White House and other partners. The White House will continue to update this resource online at Build.gov.

Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency Resources Available to all Organizations.

Every organization in the United States is at risk from cyber threats that can disrupt essential services and potentially result in impacts to public safety. Over the past year, cyber incidents have impacted many companies, non-profits, and other organizations, large and small, across multiple sectors of the economy. As the nation’s cyber defense agency, CISA is available to help organizations improve cybersecurity and resilience, including through cybersecurity experts assigned across the country. In the event of a cyber incident, CISA is able to offer assistance to victim organizations and use information from incident reports to protect other possible victims. All organizations should report incidents and anomalous activity to CISA and/or the FBI via your local FBI field office or the FBI’s 24/7 CyWatch at (855) 292-3937 or CyWatch@fbi.gov. Learn more about resources and training.

CISA has compiled a list of free cybersecurity tools and services to help organizations further advance their security capabilities. This living repository includes cybersecurity services provided by CISA, widely used open-source tools, and free tools and services offered by private and public sector organizations across the cybersecurity community. CISA will implement a process for organizations to submit additional free tools and services for inclusion on this list in the future. Learn more.

The Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities & Economic Revitalization is delivering federal resources to help revitalize America's energy communities. Learn how to get funding, find out what your community or organization might be eligible to receive in grants, loans, technical assistance, or other support. The IWG created the centralized clearinghouse below that features billions of dollars in existing federal funding sources. This government-wide list offers easy access to Energy Communities applying to fund infrastructure, environmental remediation, job creation, and community revitalization efforts.

Winter Heating Fuels statistics are now available. The statistics include regional inventory totals for the week ending on February 11, 2022, for propane, heating oil, and natural gas, as well as weekly retail and wholesale prices as of February 14, 2022, for propane and heating oil for selected states Kentucky's average price for No. 2 residential heating fuel is $3.456 per gallon and $2.838 per gallon for residential propane. The Winter Propane Market Update is available for download. 

In our February 2022 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), EIA forecast that crude oil prices will remain high enough to drive U.S. crude oil production to record-high levels in 2023, reaching a forecast 12.6 million barrels per day (b/d). We expect new production in the Permian Basin to drive overall U.S. crude oil production growth.