Environment
East Kentucky Power Co-op selected for federal funding to build or buy renewable energy
A Kentucky electric utility serving more than 570,000 homes, farms and businesses across 89 counties is getting a federal funding boost to invest in renewable energy.? East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC), based in Winchester, is one of 16 rural electric utilities across the country selected to receive a portion of $7.3 billion through the U.S. […]
New 4-year contract approved for KY Fish and Wildlife chief who has clashed with Beshear
The board overseeing Kentucky’s wildlife management agency has reappointed its chief executive Rich Storm, including board members appointed by Gov. Andy Beshear who in the past has clashed with Storm and the department. With no discussion, the state Fish and Wildlife Commission voted unanimously on Aug. 30 to give Storm a new four-year contract as […]
Utilities that opposed Kentucky’s new energy planning commission are now part of it
Gov. Andy Beshear has filled two seats on a new energy planning commission with utility executives who, like Beshear, opposed the commission’s creation. Kentucky lawmakers earlier this year created the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission (EPIC) to slow the retirement of power plants fueled by coal and natural gas. Investor-owned utilities and environmentalists opposed the […]
Trees are ‘medicine,’ UofL research finds
LOUISVILLE — A research project years in the making through the University of Louisville, The Nature Conservancy and other partners has found planting thousands of trees and shrubs in a south Louisville neighborhood has improved the health of hundreds of residents.? The University of Louisville’s Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute launched the Green Heart Louisville […]
$500M from EPA will help nonprofit lenders power energy transition in rural Appalachia
Entrepreneurs in Appalachia have ideas for renewable energy projects, but finding funding in rural and low-income areas can be challenging. A new initiative, the Green Bank for Rural America, could help channel funds to small, rural, nonprofit lenders to support projects like community solar arrays, apprenticeships in renewable energy fields and electrified public transit, just […]
Nuclear industry eyes Kentucky but don’t expect nuclear power plants anytime soon
FRANKFORT — The director of an energy research center at the University of Kentucky told state lawmakers Friday it’s not likely a nuclear power plant will be built in Kentucky over the next 10 years, though some nuclear energy companies are interested in moving to the state.? A new state law passed by the GOP-dominated […]
Some of the poorest Kentuckians pay the highest power bills because their houses leak energy
Investor-owned Kentucky Power faced strong criticism last year when it asked to increase its electricity rates in response to “historic” economic decline among the 20 Eastern Kentucky counties it serves.? The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) ultimately slashed the proposed rate hike by over two-thirds, approving a 5.66% increase in residential bills. But as part […]
The rural Americans too poor for federal flood protections
This story was produced through a collaboration between the Daily Yonder, which covers rural America, and Climate Central, a nonadvocacy science and news group. On the day he would become homeless, Wesley Bryant was awoken by his wife, Alexis. “Get up,” she told him. “There’s a flood outside.” It was 8 a.m. on a Thursday […]
Kentucky urged to curb air pollution that makes Mammoth Cave one of the haziest national parks
Mammoth Cave National Park is famous for what’s below the ground, featuring the world’s longest explored cave system with hundreds of miles of passages and a unique ecosystem of fish, insects, worms and crustaceans. But it’s what’s happening in the air above the cave system that has Kentucky environmentalists concerned.? Mammoth Cave is one of […]
Surface coal mining worsened deadly Eastern Kentucky floods in July 2022, study shows
Over a week in July 2022, more than a foot of rainfall came down on Eastern Kentucky bringing a deluge of flood waters that displaced thousands of people and killed more than 40. A recent study published by Kentucky’s former top geologist suggests environmental damage from surface coal mining worsened the deadly disaster, perhaps significantly. […]
Kentucky lawmakers hear climate-science skepticism from attorney general’s office
FRANKFORT — A litigator for the Kentucky attorney general disputed the role of carbon dioxide emissions in warming the world’s climate, despite near-total agreement among scientists that the clear gas is a major contributor to warming. Speaking Thursday to state lawmakers, Vic Maddox, counsel on special litigation for Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman, cited the […]
Have cello, will pedal: Brainstorming a walkable, bike-friendly Kentucky
Acclaimed cellist and native Kentuckian Ben Sollee said he gained a sense of freedom growing up in Lexington on his bicycle. He would hop on it to ride around the neighborhood, no cell phone and little worries with him, not having to be home until dark.? But as he grew into adulthood and a career […]