Poll shows 78 percent of Kentuckians support five year moratorium on new coal fired power plants.

A recent poll conducted by Opinion Research Corp. reveals that Kentuckians want the state to expand investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency while decreasing reliance on old dirty power from coal.

As Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear frames a new energy plan for his state, the #1 priority identified by the largest number of Kentucky residents is "transitioning to renewable energy sources, such as solar and windâ€ (43 percent), with the second most-popular priority being "increased emphasis on energy efficiency/cutting wasted energyâ€ (30 percent). Few state residents picked nuclear power (7 percent) and "more coal miningâ€ (12 percent) as their top priorities.

Kentuckians overwhelmingly (78 percent) support a five-year moratorium on new coal-fired power plants. Nationally, 73 percent favored such a moratorium.

The president of the Kentucky Coal Association, Bill Caylor, responded to the findings by calling the people of Kentucky uneducated sheep.

I don't think the public has been educated on this issue. The general public is like sheep. They'll be led by small special-interest groups.

Since when are people who prefer clean air to breathe and safe water to drink a "special interest group?"

"The poll results show that the majority of people in Kentucky and the nation believe that we need to take action to switch from a coal-based energy economy to one of renewable and alternative energy," said KFTC member Sara Pennington during a tele-conference announcing the findings. "As Gov. Beshear and state leaders prepare to release a new energy plan for Kentucky we hope they realize there is no time to waste in making this necessary choice.â€

Are our public officials listening?  Three new coal plants are permitted in the region that encompasses southern Indiana and western Kentucky, which already claims the largest concentration of coal capacity (coal burning electricity plants) in the world: 15,000 - 18,000 MW depending on the radius of the circle you draw. The new plants, if built, will add more than 2,300 MW to that mix. That's more than anywhere else in the U.S., more than any place in India, South Africa or China. What will happen when these electric utilities have to begin paying for their carbon emissions? They are going to pass those costs right along to their customers and our electric bills will literally be going through our roofs. All because we Kentuckians rely on coal for 96 percent of our electricity. It feels like we sheep are about to get fleeced.

Pollsters questioned 601 Kentuckians in September. One thousand more people responded to the national survey.

You can read Jim Brugger's story about the poll results in The Courier-Journal here.