Kentucky has a long history of coal-fired power plants, but the electricity generation landscape is expected to change in the decades to come. A state public service commission hearing last week focused on L-G and E/KU’s plan to retire nearly a third of its coal generation by 2028. Rodney Andrews is director of the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research. He foresees a move to more natural gas and solar-supported power plants, but not a complete change of course.
“While I think we will see more shifting, I don’t think we’re gonna see closure of all of our coal plants. They’re too valuable. Most of them are paid for. Most of them are operating at base load and in Kentucky coal is not terribly more expensive than anything else,” said Andrews.
