KFTC begins clean energy collaborative with EKPC, co-ops, allies

A great step toward new power will take place at the end of March with the first meeting of the Demand-side Management / Renewable Energy Collaborative--an effort called for in the agreement between the East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC), and KFTC and our allies that canceled the $900 million proposed coal-burning Smith plant. The Collaborative will conduct its initial meeting Tuesday, March 29, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at the Marriott Griffin Gate Resort Hotel on Newtown Pike in Lexington. Collaborative meetings are open to the public, and KFTC members are invited to attend. 

The Collaborative is a joint project of EKPC, its 16 member cooperatives, the Sierra Club, the Kentucky Environmental Foundation and KFTC. Additional groups with expertise in energy efficiency, low-income housing, and renewable energy in Kentucky have been invited to become members of the Collaborative and will participate as well.

The group will meet quarterly for the next two years to evaluate and recommend actions for EKPC to expand deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency. The Collaborative will also look to find ways members of the group can work together to implement energy efficiency and renewable energy in the co-op areas.

David Mitchell, EKPC's vice-president for construction and engineering, will chair the Collaborative. Owen Electric co-op member and KFTC member Tona Barkley will serve as Vice Chair. KFTC and each of our allies have a representative on the Collaborative, as does EKPC and all 16 of the distribution co-ops. KFTC's representative to the Collaborative is Madison County chapter member Steve Wilkins; and Ted Withrow, a member of the Rowan County chapter, will serve as an alternate.

In addition to supporting KFTC members who are serving as part of the Collaborative, KFTC will organize throughout the co-op service area, working to ensure the overall success of this group. Additionally, we will be increasing our work to promote existing and new programs that save co-op members energy and money--especially those most vulnerable to rising rates. Both of these areas of work are key strategies of KFTC's new Renew East Kentucky Project--an effort to kickstart the Appalachian Transition to create a more sustainable and strong economy for eastern Kentucky.