Kentucky: Part Six of Coal-Fired Profiles of Nine States Suing EPA Over Clean Power Plan

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Kentucky is one of nine states involved in a lawsuit opposing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan. Industrial Info is looking at these states in more detail.

For more information, see July 10, 2014, article - Nine States Join Lawsuit Opposing EPA Carbon Rules.

Industrial Info is tracking all 22 active facilities in Kentucky that use coal as their primary fuel. Three of these plants are not power generation facilities (a cement plant, a coal mine and the City of Louisville Steam Plant), but the remaining 19 facilities are power plants.

Below are the operational coal-fired power plants that Industrial Info tracks in Kentucky. Click the link for each plant to view the plant profile, including unit, boiler and project information:

• R D Green Power Station; owned by Big Rivers Electric Corporation; 526-MW capacity; first operational in 1979.
• D B Wilson Power Station; owned by Big Rivers Electric Corporation; 440-MW capacity; first operational in 1985; planned closure in February 2015.
• Kenneth Coleman Power Station; owned by Big Rivers Electric Corporation; 521.4-MW capacity; first operational in 1969; planned closure in December 2016.
• R A Reid Power Station; owned by Big Rivers Electric Corporation; 170.6-MW capacity; first operational in 1966.
• East Bend Power Station #2; owned by Duke Energy Kentucky; 650-MW capacity; first operational in 1981.
• John Sherman Cooper Power Station; owned by East Kentucky Power Cooperative; 322.5-MW capacity; first operational in 1965.
• H L Spurlock Power Station; owned by East Kentucky Power Cooperative; 1,359-MW capacity; first operational in 1977.
• William C Dale Power Station; owned by East Kentucky Power Cooperative; 200-MW capacity; first operational in 1954; planned closure in April 2015.
• Henderson Power Station 2; owned by Henderson Municipal Power & Light; 340-MW capacity; first operation in 1973.
• Big Sandy Power Station; owned by Kentucky Power Company; 1,096-MW capacity; first operational in 1963.
• E W Brown Power Station; owned by Kentucky Utilities Company; 1,478-MW capacity; first operation in 1957.
• Ghent Power Station; owned by Kentucky Utilities Company; 2,044-MW capacity; first operation in 1974.
• Green River Power Station; owned by Kentucky Utilities Company; 249-MW capacity; first operation in 1930; planned closure in April 2015.
• Mill Creek Power Station; owned by Louisville Gas & Electric Company; 1,589-MW capacity; first operation in 1972.
• Cane Run Power Station; owned by Louisville Gas & Electric Company; 618-MW capacity; first operation in 1972; planned closure in June 2015.
• Trimble County Power Station; owned by Louisville Gas & Electric Company; 566-MW capacity; first operation in 1990.
• Elmer Smith Power Station; owned by Owensboro Municipal Utilities; 445.4-MW capacity; first operation in 1964.
• Paradise Power Station; owned by Tennessee Valley Authority; 2,558.2-MW capacity; first operation in 1963.
• Shawnee Power Station; owned by Tennessee Valley Authority; 1,206-MW capacity; first operation in 1953.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Kentucky ranks ninth in total energy consumption per capita among U.S. states, with 427 million British thermal units (Btu), according to the EIA. But it also was the third-largest coal-producing state in 2012, with an output of more than 90 million short tons--almost 9% of total U.S. coal production. Kentucky now gets 93% of its electricity from coal-fired generation and emitted 2,158 pounds of carbon per megawatt-hour (MWh) in 2012. The national average was 1,444 pounds per MWh.

The EPA Clean Power Plan calls for Kentucky to reduce its carbon emissions by 18%--considerably lower than the 30% national average reduction called for by the plan. While the 18% cut called for the by Clean Power Plan is lower than many states, Kentucky power generation portfolio is significantly more reliant on coal than other states, and the state's economy as a whole is heavily invested in coal production. Reaching the target will be costly, and it explains Kentucky's motivation to join the lawsuit against the EPA.

The other side of the coin is that Kentucky's per-capita energy consumption and carbon emissions are both relatively high. Finding the right balance between investing to build new lower carbon-emitting generation capacity and environmental concerns--while trying to avoid negative economic impacts--is going to be a tough challenge.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.