Governor announces $400 million
investment in clean-coal generating unit
MAYSVILLE, Ky.-- Gov. Ernie Fletcher announced today that Winchester-based
East Kentucky Power Cooperative
would create hundreds of jobs by constructing an electric coal-generating
unit at the co-op’s Spurlock Station in Maysville over the
next four years.
“This is a huge investment in the environment, the economy
and the people of Kentucky,” Gov. Fletcher told the crowd gathered
at the plant. “The new unit will create hundreds of jobs. It
will bring millions of dollars in new tax revenues to local and
state government. This is an investment in Kentucky’s people
and our future.”
Roy Palk, president and CEO of East Kentucky Power Cooperative,
said the new generating unit will use a technology that is arguably
the most reliable, affordable - yet proven - clean coal technology
on the market.
If approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission, the 278-megawatt
Spurlock Unit 4 will be identical to the E.A. Gilbert Generating
Unit, which is in the final stages of construction at Spurlock Station
and goes on-line in April 2005. At a cost of more than $400 million
each, both units will rank among America’s cleanest coal-generating
units.
Each of the two units will generate enough electricity to power
the homes in 30 cities the size of Maysville. The power will be
shipped to East Kentucky Power’s 16 member electric cooperatives,
which serve about 480,000 Kentucky homes, farms, businesses and
industries across 89 counties. Spurlock 4 will be built to serve
the growth needs of EKPC’s system, including Bowling Green-based
Warren RECC, which becomes a member of EKPC in 2008.
No additional transmission lines will be needed to accommodate Spurlock
Unit 4.
Building the unit will create up to 700 construction jobs, at an
average wage of $60,000, according to Palk, CEO of EKPC. He said
the unit would:
• Create dozens of permanent jobs for people at Spurlock Station
during the lifetime of the unit.
• Be capable of using a wide variety of coals, including both
Eastern and Western Kentucky coal. The unit will create a market
for up to 1.2 million tons of coal annually for the lowest cost
suppliers.
• Pump $20 million in construction payroll into Mason County
and the surrounding region.
• Generate about $1 million in payroll taxes for Maysville.
“This unit will be built exclusively to provide Kentuckians
the most reliable, affordable power available,” Palk said.
“It will be completely owned and operated by the Kentuckians
who own EKPC.”
“This project demonstrates Kentucky’s leadership in the
energy field nationally,” Gov. Fletcher said.
Business and political leaders said the announcement was a testament
to the growth in the Commonwealth. For the past 10 years, power
sales to the member co-ops that own East Kentucky Power have grown
at a rate more than twice the average of electric utilities nationwide.
Both Spurlock Unit 4 and the Gilbert Unit will have the capability
to burn several million tires a year and 150,000 tons of biomass
such as sawdust and other wood products. "East Kentucky Power
may be able to help the state to dispose of tires that are now winding
up in illegal dumps," said Palk.
The units will operate with a clean-coal technology known as a Circulating
Fluidized Bed (CFB) process, which is recognized for extremely low
emissions. The process removes 98 percent of the sulfur dioxide,
and it produces five times less nitrogen oxide than conventional
pulverized-coal units.
Construction is subject to approval from the Kentucky Public Service
Commission and federal environmental approval under the National
Environmental Policy Act.
EKPC is a not-for-profit co-op that provides wholesale electricity
to 16 distribution cooperatives. EKPC generates the power through
plants located in Mason, Pulaski and Clark counties. Together, EKPC
and the member cooperatives are known as Kentucky's Touchstone Energy
Cooperatives.
For more information, call: Kevin Osbourn, East
Kentucky Power Cooperative
Phone: (859) 744-4864, ext. 419.
Kentucky Association of
Electric Cooperatives, Inc.
4515 Bishop Lane * Louisville, KY 40218
502-451-2430 * FAX: 502-459-3209 Terms of Use
