New Energy and Transition News

On Saturday, December 5, Sydney Gregory and myself hosted a virtual sustainability tour on ways to stay sustainable in a Coronavirus time.

We are two women who have different connections to Appalachia, but who share a passion for the mountains. Melissa grew up in Van Lear, the home of Loretta Lynn.  Her mom and dad still reside there. Many of her relatives worked in the mines, including both of her grandfathers. Rebecca lived much of her adult life in the hills of North Carolina.

As the cost of building clean energy systems drops lower and lower, Kentucky’s electric utilities have the opportunity to meaningfully shift their energy mix away from fossil fuels and towards affordable, renewable energy–if only they would take it. This question is playing out right now at the Kentucky Municipal Energy Agency (KYMEA), a wholesale supplier that provides energy to several cities and towns across Kentucky. 

The KYMEA is developing an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to determine how to meet its customer’s energy needs over the coming 10 – 20 years. In the process, it is considering whether to invest in new coal or natural gas power contracts to serve its municipal members. These potential investments would pose a significant financial risk to KYMEA’s member-communities, in addition to negative environmental and public health implications.

If you or someone you know live in a KYMEA member-community, your voice is needed to make sure KYMEA invests in a clean energy future, rather than risky fossil fuels.

A new report from a diverse set of frontline organizations outlines a set of comprehensive solutions needed to respond to the cascading and interlocking crises our communities face, including the climate crisis, COVID-19, and structural racism and inequality. 

The report, A People’s Orientation to a Regenerative Economy, offers community groups, policy advocates, and policymakers a pathway to solutions that work for frontline communities and workers. These ideas have been collectively strategized by community organizations, including KFTC, and leaders from across multiple frontline and grassroots networks and alliances to ensure that regenerative economic solutions and ecological justice.