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Kentucky must update its energy infrastructure to power a brighter future, economic development

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6 months ago

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Kentucky must update its energy infrastructure to power a brighter future, economic development

Justin Poland
 |  Opinion contributor

As a conservative, I believe in limited government and being responsible with taxpayer dollars. Kentucky has been a leading energy producer and vital to America’s energy security but in recent years has fallen short due to our aging energy infrastructure. Building and maintaining critical infrastructure is one of the core responsibilities of the government. Just like our nation’s interstate system, updating our energy infrastructure is needed for a brighter future of economic development and growth across Kentucky.

Kentucky’s electric transmission infrastructure is aging, making communities more susceptible to blackouts and other consequences when faced with severe weather events. Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers releases their Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, detailing the conditions and effectiveness of our nation’s infrastructure across 17 different categories. The most recent report in 2021 gave America’s energy infrastructure a C-, underscoring the need for improvement. 

A forthcoming federal regulation provides a rare instance where the federal government may provide a solution for local economic development. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is expected to finalize a rule this month that could improve planning processes for power lines needed to help ensure affordable and reliable power across the state and region, while also enabling economic development.

Louisville needs to rely more on solar energy, but don’t get scammed in the process.

About 10.6 gigawatts of solar projects in the state are now waiting to connect to the Mid-Atlantic power grid. These new power plants, along with more than 500 megawatts of proposed battery storage projects, are poised to attract roughly $2-2.9 billion in local capital investment here in Kentucky. But a lack of transmission capacity is holding up their deployment, and the regional grid operator has not built enough new lines to get them connected.

Kentucky would benefit from a diverse electrical grid

Families shouldn’t have to worry if the lights are going to come on when they flip the switch at home. Diversifying our electricity grid with locally-generated energy helps create a more resilient and reliable system for rural communities across the Commonwealth.

Notably, the U.S. Department of Energy determined that each of the three grid regions serving Kentucky would benefit from additional transmission capacity. In the Mid-Atlantic, power demand growth coupled with power plant retirements poses a risk to system reliability, requiring near-term transmission additions. In fact, the Mid-Atlantic region received an overall D+ rating for regional transmission planning and development in 2023, largely due to the grid operator’s transmission planning methods and the few line miles constructed. Additional grid capacity is also needed on the Midwest grid to access diverse generation resources and ensure reliability and resilience. And the Tennessee Valley Authority was particularly affected during Winter Storm Elliott yet has done little to plan and build its next round of lines to fix the problem.

As America’s energy portfolio diversifies and evolves, Kentucky needs a 21st century transmission upgrade to get the power that drives our economy to where it’s needed and who needs it.

Let’s build a better grid for the Bluegrass State and keep our electric grid reliable and secure.

Justin Poland is a lifetime Kentucky resident and the Field Director for the Kentucky Land & Liberty Coalition, a project of the Conservative Energy Network.

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