News
May 01, 2012
Cincinnati Transitions to 100% Renewable Electricity
More than 50,000 commercial and residential electricity users in Cincinnatians hired a new electricity company this week - one that aims to power the city on 100% clean energy.
Cincinnati is the first city in Ohio and the first of its size to move to 100% clean energy. The city's manager expects the average eligible household's bill to decrease by $133 as a result.
The customers will leave Duke Energy, which relies heavily on coal-burning power, and go to First Energy Solutions. A portion of the city's power will now come from local renewable sources, such as rooftop solar and solar power from the Cincinnati Zoo Solar Canopy project and the rest will come from renewable energy credits. Ohio has local renewable energy projects to provide electricity in part because of its state Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard - a policy similar to the one KySEA supports passing in Kentucky.
Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) are generated when renewable energy comes online in the grid somewhere else and First Energy Solutions will purchase them in the amount needed to offset the remainder of the city's electricity use. RECs are a market mechanism that supports the growth of renewable energy projects.
When given a choice on the ballot last year, Cincinnati residents overwhelmingly voted to allow the city to bargain for electricity on behalf of its residents. This enabled the city to drop its contract with Duke and to find a new provider. Ohio's utility market, unlike Kentucky's, is largely deregulated, allowing such a ballot effort to go forward.
Apr 13, 2012
In the news...
Solar manufacturing jobs come to Edmonson County, KY
Taggart Solar LLC recently announced that it plans to locate a manufacturing plant in Edmonson County. A $440,000 investment, the plant will sustain 30 full-time workers. The Tennessee Valley Authority, which provides electricity to Edmonson and several other Kentucky counties, offers large financial incentives for renewable energy production in it service area. These incentives make it more attractive for solar manufacturing companies to locate there.
Kentucky Center to install Green Roof
The Kentucky Center for the Arts plans to “green” its 76,000 square foot roof quite literally. It will be covered with a special type of soil and sedum plants, which soak up water and provide insulation lowers air- conditioning bills. Center staff hopes to implement a pubic education project along with the new roof. An estimated 500,000 people visit the center each year.
U.S. Department of Defense Spends Big on Clean Energy
The U.S. Department of Defense invested billions in clean energy innovations between 2006 and 2009 – an increase of nearly 200% from pre-2006 spending levels. Projects include major efficiency efforts and large renewable installations at bases. For example, DoD is partnering with Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative to make efficiency improvements and install solar and geo-thermal systems at the Fort Knox base. (Department of Defense Accelerates Clean Energy Innovation to Save Lives, Money, Pew Study 2011.)
Mar 01, 2012
KySEA Lobby Day - A Success!
More than 60 citizen lobbyists came to Frankfort on Tuesday, February 28, to talk to legislators about the promise of clean energy.
The Clean Energy Lobby Day was hosted by the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance (KySEA), a coalition of 52 organizations working to pass clean energy policy that would stem rising energy rates and create thousands of new jobs. KySEA includes small businesses, faith communities, housing groups, MACED, environmental groups, and even individuals.
It was an incredible day. Participants from around the state met with more than 50 different legislators to discuss House Bill 167, the Clean Energy Opportunity Act. Sponsored by Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, the bill would establish benchmarks for increasing the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency in Kentucky over the next ten years. It would also establish payment rates for renewable energy to encourage renewable energy industries to locate in Kentucky and create new jobs.
Many surrounding states have already passed such measures, and new jobs in clean energy are going to Ohio and North Carolina instead of Kentucky.
EKU students John Bowers and Emily Justus, and Nick Johnson, a U of Louisville student lobbied for the first time. Nick told his senator, Robert Leeper of Paducah, about the Synapse Economics study which projects 28,000 additional job-years in Kentucky by 2022 if the bill is passed. When he came out of the meeting, Nick said “I think I know how to do public speaking. And now I’m going to learn how to be better at lobbying legislators.”
Emily Justus, a native of Pike County, said she came to Frankfort to “show our support and learn about the whole process.” John Bowers of Berea said, “I’m very much for clean energy. I think that’s the wave of the future and the direction we need to go.”
Each legislator who met with KySEA representatives was given a packet of information about HB 167 and its projected benefits. Most KySEA participants reported a fairly favorable response from their legislators.
The Clean Energy Opportunity Act is assigned to the House Tourism, Development and Energy Committee. One strategy of the lobby day was to press for the bill to get a hearing, and we have learned that our efforts were successful on that. The bill will get a hearing in committee in the next few weeks!
So, we ask all the wonderful KySEA activists to stay tuned, and come back to the Capitol complex to attend the hearing.
Feb 01, 2012
Can weather stripping and caulk help you get healthy?
The answer is yes, according to research compiled and released this week by the health experts and the Kentucky Environmental Foundation. The “Health Impact Assessment on Coal and Clean Energy Options in Kentucky” is a review of health and scientific data and perspectives from Kentuckians on the specific health impacts – positive and negative – associated with our energy policy options. Health impact assessments (HIAs) are designed to be tools for government decision makers and other stakeholders when considering public policies that affect our health, but occur outside of the health sector.
It turns out that energy efficiency and renewable energies from sources like solar, wind and hydro could have both indirect and direct benefits to public health. Much of the benefits of efficiency and renewables come in the avoidance of pollution created and released from fossil fuels and their chemical byproducts; pollution that is linked to heart and respiratory diseases, birth defects, developmental disabilities and even tooth decay. By contrast, wind turbines, solar panels and hydroelectric dams do not release any pollution. But some direct benefits include improved general health and increased productivity from home weatherization and less eyestrain, headaches and other illnesses from energy efficient lighting.
With health care costs are high and getting higher, and Kentucky is among the least healthy states, we should be looking for every opportunity to improve our health. Recent polling data shows that Kentuckians want our legislators to prioritize public health improvements. Energy efficiency and renewable energy reduce pollution that makes us sick, and that’s a powerful reason to support clean energy policies for our state.
Let’s encourage Kentucky legislators to consider clean energy policies as if our health really matters…because it does!
You can find the HIA at: http://kyenvironmentalfoundation.org.
Jan 12, 2012
New study shows diversifying into clean energy can create 28,000 jobs and save Kentuckians on electric bills in the future
A new study estimates that in 10 years Kentucky could create over 28,000 jobs while lessening the growth of electricity bills by passing clean energy legislation currently in front of the General Assembly.
A new study estimates that in 10 years Kentucky could create over 28,000 jobs while lessening the growth of electricity bills by passing clean energy legislation currently in front of the General Assembly. Synapse Energy Economics produced the study, which is an analysis of the Clean Energy Opportunity Act (HB 167) introduced by Representative Mary Lou Marzian.
“This study confirms that legislation to diversify our electricity portfolio would be economically beneficial to Kentucky,” said Justin Maxson, President of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED). “The bill would allow the state to hedge against increasing rates by making homes and businesses more energy efficient. And it would spur the creation of clean energy jobs installing renewable energy projects and making energy efficiency upgrades.”
“The era of cheap energy is coming to an end,” said Maxson, “and it is really a question of whether we in Kentucky take advantage of the opportunities that exist in the clean energy economy of the future.”
Synapse’s study is a high level analysis of the proposed legislation’s impacts on Kentucky’s electricity bills, jobs, and economy. The study concludes that making small but significant steps to begin diversifying Kentucky’s portfolio over the next ten years will lower the bills of Kentucky’s residents, business owners, and industrial facilities compared to their bills without a clean energy standard.
Synapse projects that, under the REPS, average annual electricity bills could be eight percent to 10 percent lower than under a do nothing scenario. In addition to saving Kentuckians money, the REPS would lead to over 28,000 net new jobs over and above any jobs lost in fossil fuels and add $1.5 billion to gross state product once fully implemented in 2022.
“Efficiency and renewables are already the emerging trend in construction in the Commonwealth,” said Kentucky solar entrepreneur Matt Partymiller of Solar Energy Solutions in Lexington. “This report by Synapse captures what Kentucky engineers and contractors already know and what other states have already seen. Legislation like the Clean Energy Opportunity Act will provide the tools necessary for Kentucky builders to create jobs while ensuring Kentucky energy costs stay low.”
The study’s findings are supported by what neighboring states that have passed similar legislation have experienced. North Carolina has seen tremendous growth in the number of clean energy firms operating in their state since passing an REPS in 2007. Ohio built on the strengths of its traditional manufacturing sector to start building clean energy equipment in state, and reap real economic benefits from their 2008 law.
Synapse carried out the study for the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, a Berea based economic development organization, and the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance, a coalition of over 50 businesses, affordable housing advocates, non-profit organizations and faith based groups. MACED and KySEA wanted to understand the economic impacts of an REPS in Kentucky, and a comprehensive analysis of a bill like the Clean Energy Opportunity Act has not been part of the policy conversation until now.
The report can be accessed at www.maced.org/files/Potential_Impacts_of_REPS_in_KY.pdf
Dec 21, 2011
Sustainable Energy Briefs
Kentucky falls in national energy efficiency ranking
The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) recently ranked 37th out of all states on its annual state energy efficiency scorecard. This represents a step down from previous years’ rankings. In 2010, Kentucky was 36th and in 2009 it was 33rd. The rankings are based on an array of metrics including state levels of funding towards energy efficiency and best practices in state energy efficiency policy and program implementation.
Fort Knox Army Base partners with EKPC’s Nolin Rural Electric Co-op to Install Clean Energy Systems
Over the last two years, Fort Knox has partnered with the co-op to create a plan to reduce energy use 35% by this year. The plan included energy efficiency upgrades, a major solar installation, and a geo-thermal heating and cooling system placed in the base barracks. Annual savings from the energy plan is estimated to be $2.8 million. Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
Industrial Efficiency Efforts in Richmond, KY Saves Money For Sherwin Williams Plant
Sherwin-Williams is the largest producer of paint in the United States today. The company owns over 3,000 stores throughout North America, with one of its largest plants located in Richmond, KY. The Kentucky-based Sherwin Williams plant is doing something unique – it’s leading the way on industrial efficiency.
In 2008, via a partnership with the Division of Energy’s Industrial Technology Program, Sherwin William began the process of launching an energy reduction program. By the 2010 the plant had reduced its total energy consumption by over 25% - with the potential to reduce energy intensity to 50% as more improvements are brought online. Source: Personal interview by Lauren McGrath of Sierra Club with plant engineer
Energy Improvements Can Save Money and Create Jobs in Cincinnati Area, Study finds
Energy efficiency upgrades to the area's homes and non-profit buildings can save area residents $60 million in lower energy bills and create more than 300 local jobs, according to a study released last month by the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance. The study looked at the economic impact of energy efficiency investments to the metropolitan area, which includes the Kentucky counties of Boone, Campbell, and Kenton.
Oct 25, 2011
Join Us: Solar Energy To Be Discussed in Frankfort Tomorrow!
The interim joint committee on local government will host a "discussion on solar energy" tomorrow, October 26th, in Frankfort at 10 am in the Capitol Annex room 171.
Join us to support Matt Partymiller and Denis Oudard of Solar Energy Solutions and the Kentucky Solar Energy Society, both member groups of KySEA.
The committee is co-chaired by Senator Damon Thayer and Representative Steve Riggs. Both are interested to learn about the opportunity Kentucky has to advance solar energy and how local governments can take action.
For more information, email jeff@kysea.org or denis@kysea.org.
Oct 11, 2011
Renewed Energy
Re-posted from the Louisville Eccentric Observer.
Activists point to higher bills, job creation in urging legislators to support clean energy
By Anne Marshall
Earlier this month, the Kentucky Public Service Commission’s public hearing unfolded much like a game of dominoes. Held at Louisville’s Johnson Traditional Middle School, members of the scant crowd leaned into the microphone, one after another, their pleas all generally falling into line: Don’t raise our bills, protect low-income families who can’t afford ever-blooming energy costs, and get serious about alternative energy.
Clean energy advocates hope the combination of rising rates, along with the potential for job creation, will steer legislators towards passing the Clean Energy Opportunity Act, a bill that’s gone nowhere in the past two legislative sessions. It mandates that a portion of Kentucky’s energy come from renewable sources, rather than solely from coal. An admittedly uphill battle in a mountaintop removal state.
“I think it will look nearly impossible until the day before it passes,” says Wallace McMullen, conservation chair with Louisville’s chapter of the Sierra Club.
The Sept. 6 hearing was part of a series as the Public Service Commission decides whether LG&E and Kentucky Utilities should be allowed to tack on an environmental surcharge to bills. That could raise residential electric bills in Louisville by up to 19 percent over the next four years. (The Sierra Club and Metropolitan Housing Coalition will go before the Public Service Commission in November as interveners in the surcharge case. The Sierra Club questions the analysis behind the fee. The Housing Coalition is concerned with how the higher bills may inevitably hit the poor the hardest.)
The charge would eventually drop off once the utilities have covered the estimated $2.5 billion needed to improve existing coal-fired power plants not meeting Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. One such upgrade would include the addition of “scrubbers” that will catch emissions before they escape into the air. Joan Lindop, with the Greater Louisville Sierra Club, likens this to billions on Band-Aids.
“If they scrub more emissions out, that’s more that’s going into a coal ash pile,” she says. “We’re really not wanting to encourage them to spend that money on old plants when it could be used for renewables.”
And so for the third year, advocates are gearing up to push legislation they say would spark production and demand of solar, wind, hydroelectric and geothermal power.
In 2010, the Clean Energy Opportunity Act (HB 239) was assigned to the state House of Representatives’ Natural Resources and Environment Committee, headed by global-warming denier Rep. Jim Gooch, D-Providence. It did not get a hearing. In 2011, the bill was strategically rerouted outside of Gooch’s committee and into the Tourism Development and Energy Committee led by Rep. Leslie Combs, D-Pikeville. That resulted in measured progress: A discussion hearing. No vote.
This year’s proposed legislation will look much like the one from last year, with two critical pieces. The first includes a renewable and efficiency portfolio standard, a policy already adopted by 29 other states. It would require utilities to generate 12.5 percent of retail sales from renewable energy by 2021, with at least 1 percent from solar.
This is a rather conservative standard when compared to several other states demanding that well over 20 percent of energy eventually be derived from renewable sources.
The other proposed policy calls for a “feed-in tariff,” which works as a contract, establishing a fixed premium price for energy produced in Kentucky, be it from large-scale operations or individual homeowners.
Mike Hynes, president of the Housing Partnership Inc., a developer of affordable housing in Louisville, wrote a letter to the Public Service Commission in support of this idea. Hynes recently installed solar panels on one of the Housing Partnership’s properties, but was careful to only invest in panels that would generate 75 percent of their energy needs.
If Hynes outfitted the building with enough panels to exceed 100
percent of their desired energy, LG&E would give him a credit to go
toward future bills, rather than pay him for that energy.
“Basically,
that builds up in perpetuity. In my mind, that creates an incentive not
to produce enough electricity as one could for their household,” he
says. “With a rebate program, that’s an incentive to create systems that
are larger than what you can use."
Several regional utility companies including Duke Energy, Georgia Power and Florida Power and Light have tariff programs that pay per kilowatt-hour, then turn around and put that energy back into the grid.
Tom FitzGerald, with the Kentucky Resources Council, says the timing is right for renewables.
“The
unit cost of solar and wind is coming down,” says FitzGerald, adding
that while coal may appear to be the cheapest source of fuel, that’s not
including environmental costs and restrictions.
“Over the course of time, you start having to fold in extra costs because externalities have to be accounted for.”
Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville, will sponsor the renewable energy bill again this year. She says supporters are tailoring their arguments for the legislation in light of another sore subject — jobs.
“When you’re looking at business and manufacturing folks coming to Kentucky, they want constancy in the market,” she says. “Coal is cheap now, but it’s going up.”
The Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance reports that neighboring states with clean energy standards are experiencing a boom in manufacturing and construction employment. For example, after Ohio passed legislation in 2008, about 1,500 solar-related jobs were created.
While no one expects the Clean Energy Opportunity Act to garner much attention until election hoopla ceases, advocates believe this year the support just might be there. They point to this week’s Governor’s Conference on Energy and the Environment in Lexington, where various panels discussed the issue.
“What we have to consider is coal is always going to be No. 1 for the foreseeable 15 to 20 years,” Marzian says. “But if we don’t start looking at different tools … we’re going to be left holding the bag.”
Oct 05, 2011
KySEA Member, Kentucky Conservation Committee, Welcomes New Director
Re-posted from the website of Kentucky Conservation Committee, a KySEA member.
Frankfort, KY--October 5, 2011--The Kentucky Conservation Committee has appointed Art Williams, former director of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District, as Executive Director.
KCC has lobbied the General Assembly for environmental and conservation legislation since 1975. Two recent legislative achievements required LEED certification of new state buildings and established a foundation for the protection of more conservation lands.
In accepting the position, Williams said, “I look forward to working with the members of the General Assembly, citizens of the state, and other interests to bring progressive and workable solutions to tough issues facing our great Commonwealth.”
Until recently, KCC relied on volunteer work and a part-time lobbyist but times have changed. The President of KCC’s board, Dr. David Wicks of Louisville, said, “Kentucky’s legislature confronts a wide range of challenges related to energy and conservation -- climate change, the state’s dependence on fossil fuels, rampant development, and the limited role of renewable energy . All these threaten Kentucky’s celebrated bio-diversity and suppress opportunities for new, green jobs. Providing an effective voice for conservation of our lands, air, and waters requires a year-round effort.”
Art Williams, an attorney, brings 33 years of environmental and energy experience in the public and private sectors to this position. He has been the Energy and Environment Advisor to the City of Louisville, served in the Office of General Counsel of the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and as Commissioner of the Department for Environmental Protection, and was a partner and head of the environmental practice for the Louisville law firm Woodward, Hobson and Fulton.
Wicks said, “Art has dealt effectively with difficult and complex energy, environmental and conservation issues in his career and helped bring people with opposing positions together to achieve positive results. We’re fortunate to contribute his collaborative talents to the legislative process on behalf of Kentucky’s environment.”
KCC will introduce Williams as its Executive Director to the public at an annual meeting to be held Saturday November 5, 2011, at the U of L Shelby campus from 10am to 4pm, where the association will discuss issues for KCC’s focus in the upcoming legislative session.
KySEA welcomes Art Williams to the work!
