New green jobs waiting for EKPC's decision

New green jobs in Kentucky?

There could be thousands over the next three years if East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) invested in a series of strategies focused on clean energy and efficiency instead of building a new coal-burning power plant.

And by doing so, it would generate or save at least as much or more electricity that the new power plant would generate, without the pollution, health and economic consequences that result from burning coal.

"I can’t tell you how significant this would be to an area that has lost much of its agricultural base in recent years," said KFTC member Rachel Harrod who lives in Owen County and is a member of the Owen Electric Co-op. "These investments would create thousands of jobs and well over a billion dollars in new economic activity throughout EKPC’s 87-county service area. The jobs generated by a clean energy portfolio would be a welcome boost to our local economy,â€"

The job projections were revealed in a report released today by the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies, a data analysis and policy research organization based in Chattanooga.  Using various case studies and economic models, the researchers projected job creation and economic impacts if EKPC invested the money it proposes spend on the construction and operation of a new coal burning power plant in Clark County — just under a billion dollars — instead on renewable energy and energy efficiency.

"Economic modeling data show enormous potential for job creation in the areas of home weatherization, hydroelectric dams, solar hot water, heating, cooling and much more,â€ said David Eichenthal, president of the Ochs Center.  "EKPC would be doing Kentuckians a great service by enabling such job growth while providing their members with clean, reliable electricity.â€

That level of investment could create more than 5,400 jobs and nearly $1.2 billion in economic activity through energy efficiency and weatherization projects.  Additionally the development of small-scale hydropower generation at 20 sites in the region would create more than $500 million in economic activity and more than 3,300 jobs.

EKPC projects that building the Smith 1 power plant would create 700 construction jobs and 60 permanent plant jobs.

"We already know that energy efficiency and clean renewable energy are good for our health, good for the environment and make good economic sense,â€ said Elizabeth Crowe with the Kentucky Environmental Foundation.  "When you add in data on new clean energy jobs and economic growth throughout the region and compare it all to the risks of a new coal burning power plant, the choice is clear:  EKPC should abandon its plans for the Smith plant and instead invest in clean energy.â€

A large-scale weatherization project would also mean that EKPC customers would save millions of dollars over time by requiring less electricity.

EKPC supplies electricity to 16 multi-county rural electric cooperatives in northern, eastern, central and south-central Kentucky. It has about 500,000 customers in 87 counties, so its potential impact is significant.

"EKPC could be a catalyst for creating green jobs all over the state, benefiting their members and the communities in which they serve,â€ said Andy McDonald of the Kentucky Solar Partnership. "Kentucky is fertile ground for new jobs in the area of renewable energy.  These are safe, solid, community-based jobs that can’t be shipped overseas, and that help people save money by conserving electricity.â€

McDonald explained that Kentucky has great solar potential, even more so than Germany, which is recognized as the worldwide leader in solar installation. "The barrier is not the quality of our sunlight or our technology."

The Ochs Center study was commissioned by the Kentucky Environmental Foundation, the Sierra Club and KFTC. A copy can be downloaded here.