Report says renewable energy, efficiency good for job growth
By Mike Wynn

July 14, 2009

Three environmental and economic groups are pointing to a new report that says East Kentucky Power Cooperative could create more jobs and keep costs down if it withdraws plans for a new power plant in Clark County and focuses on efficiency and renewable energy programs.

But officials at East Kentucky Power say the proposed $766 million plant at J.K. Smith Station in Trapp remains the best option for dependable, low-cost energy.

Last week, the Kentucky Environmental Foundation, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and the Cumberland Chapter of the Sierra Club hosted a teleconference on the report, which was conducted by the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies — an analysis and policy research center in Chattanooga, Tenn.

According to a press release, the study indicates that East Kentucky Power could create 8,750 new jobs over the next three years by investing in clean energy initiatives and foregoing construction of the 278-megawatt coal-fired plant. More than 540 of those jobs would be at Clark Energy, the center said.

Furthermore, green investments could add a $1.7 billion boost to the regional economy and help contain energy costs, according to the report.

The Ochs Center estimates that efficiency and renewable programs would cost about $62.10 per megawatt hour compared to a cost of $74.73 if the plant were built.

“Economic modeling data show enormous potential for job creation in the areas of home weatherization, hydroelectric dams, solar hot water, heating, cooling and much more,” David Eichenthal, president of the center, said in the news release. “EKPC would be doing Kentuckians a great service by enabling such job growth while providing their members with clean, reliable electricity.”

The three groups promoting the study have sought to halt the plant for more than a year. Since February 2008, the organizations have released a number of studies and reports arguing for efficiency programs and denouncing the use of coal on environmental grounds.

Instead of the plant, the groups are promoting a combination of wind, solar and hydrological power along with programs to reduce energy consumption.

In March, the Sierra Club and Kentucky Environmental Foundation also teamed with the Center for Biological Diversity in a lawsuit against the federal Rural Utilities Service, an agency that lends money to East Kentucky Power for infrastructure projects.

“We already know that energy efficiency and clean renewable energy are good for our health, good for the environment and make good economic sense,” Elizabeth Crowe, from the Kentucky Environmental Foundation, said in last week’s release. “When you add in data on new clean energy jobs and economic growth throughout the region and compare it all to the risks of a new coal burning power plant, the choice is clear: EKPC should abandon its plans for the Smith plant and instead invest in clean energy.”

Plans to build Smith Unit 1 have been under way for years. East Kentucky Power has invested $50 million in the project so far. But the cooperative needs approval from the Rural Utilities Service and the Kentucky Division of Air before the project can move forward.

EKPC spokesman Kevin Osbourn said the cooperative has a 2013 target date to begin construction, but the schedule depends on agency approvals. Once the project begins, it is expected to create up to 700 construction jobs and 60 permanent jobs.

During construction, officials estimate that it will generate more than a $1 million in payroll taxes for Clark County and about $11 million in state property taxes over the first 20 years.

In the meantime, Osbourn said EKPC officials are analyzing the Ochs Center report to determine how the data was calculated, but East Kentucky Power does not believe the program suggestions are viable.

“We are not-for-profit,” Osbourn said. “We have to make sure it makes sense. It has to be affordable and reliable, and that seems to be a big challenge.”

Wind power is commercially feasible in only a small area in eastern Kentucky, where wind currents can sustain an energy program, Osbourn said. Likewise, he described solar power as “very expensive.”

“The challenge is going to be in meeting the needs of the future,” he said. “East Kentucky Power and utilities all across the country are going to need a balanced approach.”

Such an approach would include fossil fuels, renewable energy and efficiency programs, Osbourn concluded. “If you add all that up, Smith Unit 1 is the most affordable reliable option we have for meeting Kentucky’s growing demand for power.”

Osbourn added that East Kentucky Power is proud of its record on renewable energy and has taken the lead on both efficiency and renewable programs.

He pointed to a 2003 program that uses methane gas from five landfills to generate enough power for 8,000 homes. The cooperative has also distributed 500,000 free compact fluorescent light bulbs to its members in the last five years and, last year, issued a request for proposals to generate 300 megawatts in renewable energy, he said.

Osbourn described the Ochs report as “the latest in a series of attempts to stop EKPC from building a new power plant that is going to provide reliable and affordable power to Kentuckians.”

Contact Mike Wynn at mwynn@winchestersun.com.