Kentucky Utilities Co. intends to purchase wind power from northern Illinois and will soon ask state regulators to charge home customers about a buck a month more to pay for that alternative energy. The wind power, including the cost of transmitting the electricity to Kentucky, is about twice as much as it costs KU to generate power by burning coal at power plants. To pay for the wind power, KU plans to file an application with the Kentucky Public Service Commission, requesting permission to impose a "renewable resource clause" so it can recover the costs of purchased wind power and transmission costs.

The nation's largest public utility issued a request for proposals Tuesday to buy enough clean energy from the wind, sun and other renewable sources to supply about 978,000 homes in three years. It would be like adding two new nuclear reactors to the TVA system. The possible energy sources also could include hydropower, geothermal, ocean, tidal, biomass and other biologically derived fuels, not necessarily produced in the Tennessee Valley.

States with renewable portfolio standards have generated growth in the renewable energy sector, but many of the Appalachian states don't have one. Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and New York all have some fairly progressive goals, but West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee don't have a state RPS and wind projects often ignite battles.

WASHINGTON - Thanks to the high prices of oil and natural gas, the electricity industry is turning back to coal, America's oldest and most abundant fossil fuel, to drive a new generation of power plants. The upshot is that even as politicians take the threat of global warming more seriously, the problem may get much worse. Utilities are proposing to build 154 coal-fired power plants in the next 25 years, according to "Coal's Resurgence in Electric Power Generation," a recent Department of Energy report. Most of those new plants would use conventional coal-burning technology, which would increase carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. coal plants by more than 50 percent by 2030, according to the Energy Information Administration, the analytic division of the Energy Department. A traditional coal plant produces three to four times more CO2 -- a potent "greenhouse gas" that traps the sun's heat and helps raise the Earth's temperature -- than comes from a modern plant that uses natural gas as its fuel.

Appalachian states have the potential to compete in the global energy market and should seek alternative sources of energy beyond conventional coal production, regional leaders said Thursday. Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher and other members of the federal Appalachian Regional Commission released a report detailing how the area could increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy resources, including biomass, and develop conventional energy resources, such as clean coal. “Energy is quickly becoming one of the biggest issues facing the country today,” said Fletcher, who is also the state’s co-chair of the ARC. “It is important for Kentucky and the other ARC states to develop a solid plan of action in order to capitalize on our natural resources and provide high-quality job opportunities for our citizens.”

Partnership Latest in Series of Actions by Governor Rendell to Accelerate Alternative Fuel Development, Increase Domestic Fuel Supply