Beshear Trumpets Ky. Coal
Posted on: Saturday, 8 March 2008, 00:00 CST
By CHUCK STINNETT, The Gleaner (270) 831-8343 or cstinnett@thegleaner.com
HENDERSON, Ky. - Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear made clear that coal will continue to be a cornerstone of energy in Kentucky, but he added coal must be burned more cleanly and power must be used more efficiently.
"Kentucky is a coal state," Beshear said in remarks at the Illinois Basin Energy Conference here Thursday morning. "Let's not be bashful about it."
"Kentucky can be a national leader in energy technology and production," the governor said. "I intend to put this state on that path. I intend to make energy a top priority of the Beshear administration for the next four years."
Kentucky in 2004 produced 119 million tons of coal, with mines employing 15,000 people and paying $759 million in direct wages, he said.
But while coal provides 90 percent Kentucky's electricity, there are consequences, such as the release of vast amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas suspected of causing global warming.
"Our power plants emit 93 million tons of carbon dioxide" per year, Beshear said. "We rank seventh in the nation."
That may not be permitted in the future. Congress has considered legislation limited carbon emissions.
Future lending
Further, "Wall Street banks have announced that emissions will factor into their willingness to loan money for building power plants," Beshear noted.
So, he said, "We must be a leader in clean coal technology."
Beshear said because of the energy bill passed last year, Kentucky is funding research and commercialization of carbon dioxide controls as well.
And the state is offering "hundreds of millions of dollars of incentives" to companies such as Peabody Energy Corp. if they build multi-billion-dollar plants to turn coal into substitute natural gas. Peabody is considering building such a plant in Western Kentucky.
"We stand ready to do whatever we can to make that a reality," Beshear said.
"There's a balancing act between jobs versus the environment, between coal versus other fuels," he said. "It's imperative to perform the balancing act and to know that protecting the environment does not mean losing jobs."
Energy efficiency
"In Kentucky we've been sloppy," failing to conserve electricity because Kentucky-generated power has long been cheap, Beshear said.
"We must use energy more efficiently as we transition to a carbon- constrained world," he said.
He applauded Henderson County officials who have formed the West Kentucky Regional Energy Team to promote energy production and research here and for expanding it to include Union and Webster counties.
Approximately 350 people registered for the conference held Thursday at the Henderson Community College Fine Arts Center.
The audience consisted of representatives of energy and utility companies, university and government researchers and public officials.
(c) 2008 Evansville Courier & Press. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Evansville Courier & Press
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