New Energy and Transition News | Kentuckians For The Commonwealth

New Energy and Transition News

16 coal-county leaders implore McConnell to move RECLAIM Act

March 15, 2018
Lexington Herald Leader
Just Transition, Big Sandy, Just Transition, Harlan County, Just Transition, Perry County, Just Transition, Western Kentucky

Congress has pending before it the opportunity to provide a $1 billion boost to the local economies struggling with the decline of the coal industry.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has the power to make this a reality for hundreds of Kentucky families looking for the means to make a decent living and stay in the Kentucky communities they call home.

That’s why we — and 14 other county judge-executives across the state — sent a letter to McConnell imploring him to see that the RECLAIM Act becomes law soon.

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Kentuckians tell McConnell time is up, pass RECLAIM now

March 14, 2018 at 05:32pm
Just Transition, Big Sandy, Just Transition, Harlan County, Just Transition, Perry County, Just Transition, Western Kentucky

Senator Mitch McConnell is in a position to direct more than $100 million to economic and community development projects in communities hardest hit by the decline in coal mining.

Kentuckians held an action outside his Lexington office today asking him to waste no more time in doing that.

“The time is now to pass the RECLAIM Act,” said Lyndsay Tarus, the Economic Transition Coordinator for the Alliance for Appalachia. “This is a jobs bill. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement has estimated that 4,600 jobs could be generated through the RECLAIM Act across the country.

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Members host Georgetown Town Hall

March 1, 2018 at 10:45am
Campaign For Our CommonWealth, , Sustainable Energy, Rolling Bluegrass

On February 24 members in Scott County hosted a town hall for residents to ask the questions of their state legislators they were concerned about. The chapter invited all state legislators who represent part of Scott County to attend, with State Representatives Mark Hart and Phillip Pratt attending. 

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Climate change pushes LG&E's parent company to slash coal-burning in Kentucky

February 7, 2018
The Courier-Journal
Just Transition, Central Kentucky, Just Transition, Jefferson County

The parent of Kentucky's two large utilities – LG&E and KU – has ordered a major reduction in emissions blamed for global warming by eliminating "the bulk" of its coal-burning in the coming years. 

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Against energy subsidies? Lawmakers complaining about solar should dig into this.

February 9, 2018
Lexington Herald Leader
Just Transition, Big Sandy, Just Transition, Harlan County, Just Transition, Perry County, Just Transition, Southern Kentucky

If legislators want to complain about solar subsidies, maybe they need to take a fresh look at coal subsidies. Commission an independent economist to add up all the costs and benefits to the state budget of coal, gas, oil, solar and other energy technologies and compare them. If we’re going to subsidize anything, maybe it should be the future and not the past.

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Kentuckians speak up against anti-solar House Bill 227

February 5, 2018 at 05:33pm

H.B. 227, proposed by GOP lawmakers early in January 2018, would smash Kentucky's independent solar businesses and shatter our opportunity to create a thriving clean energy economy. Here are reflections from Kentuckians on why this bill would lead our state away, not towards, the bright future and just transition that we deserve.

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Will GOP let utilities crush solar (and 1,200 jobs) in Kentucky? This could get ugly.

February 5, 2018
Lexington Herald Leader

You would think after the sexual harassment scandal involving former Speaker Jeff Hoover and three other colleagues, House Republicans would not want to bring more embarrassment upon themselves. But you would be wrong.

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Solar bill committee gets three new members, raising charges of 'vote packing'

February 2, 2018
The Courier-Journal

A committee in Frankfort that has so far failed to take any votes on a controversial bill to curb solar power in Kentucky will be getting three new members — two Republicans and a coal-country Democrat.

Questions of vote packing immediately surfaced.

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Solar power in Kentucky is threatened. This is who's behind the push to crush it

February 2, 2018
The Courier-Journal

A national "consumer" group is working with Frankfort lawmakers, making phone calls to their constituents and urging Kentuckians to support a bill that would roll back incentives for solar power.

But who are they?

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Members speak out to protect climate, clean energy jobs

December 11, 2017 at 12:13pm

In the final week of November, KFTC members Russell Oliver, Stanley Sturgill, Henry Jackson, Teri Blanton, Roger Ohlman, Mary Dan Easley and Mary Love converged in Charleston, West Virginia – alongside hundreds of other concerned people – to testify to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) against the agency’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan.

“Now that we have cleaner, safer and cheaper ways to generate energy, the only question should be: how can we create more of those new jobs right here and right now in Appalachia? I know this because not only have I lived it, I’m still trying my best to keep living it,” said Stanley Sturgill of Harlan County, a retired coal miner and KFTC member.

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