A Kentucky electric cooperative plans to build new natural gas-fired units, and convert some of its coal-fired units to burn natural gas, as part of an expansion of its power generation fleet. East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) also has received the go-ahead from state regulators to build two new solar power facilities as it seeks to add 757 MW of new renewable energy resources.
EKPC recently announced it wants to add a new 745-MW natural gas combined cycle unit at Cooper Station in Pulaski County. Cooper Station has operated since the 1960s as a two-unit, coal-fired power station with 344 MW of capacity. The utility also said it plans to convert the coal-fired Unit 2 at Cooper to burn natural gas.
EKPC also plans to build a new 214-MW gas-fired power plant near Liberty in Casey County. That plant, on a 100-acre site, would feature 12 natural gas-fueled engine/generator sets (gensets), with the ability to function as a peaker plant during times of peak demand for power. The gensets could quickly ramp up and down depending on the demand for electricity, and also would be available to provide power during periods of lower production from the utility’s solar power installations. EKPC said that facility is expected to come online by late 2028.
The utility also plans to convert four coal-fired units at the 1,300-MW Spurlock Station in Maysville in Mason County to burn natural gas. The utility in a recent news release said that converting units at the Cooper and Spurlock stations to natural gas would help EKPC “ensure continued compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas rule and protect its most dependable electric-generating resources.” The utility said that without the conversions, the coal-fired units would have to close by 2032. EKPC said, “The co-firing projects will protect nearly half of EKPC’s existing generating capacity while reducing carbon dioxide emissions.”
The units at Spurlock were commissioned in 1977, 1981, 2005, and 2009.
The utility said its plans for new generation come after EKPC in the past two winters has set peak demand records during extreme cold events, with large amounts of electricity used for heating. The utility also said the new unit at Cooper will support the regional transmission grid in southern Kentucky.
“EKPC is blazing a bold path to ensure reliable, cost-competitive and sustainable electricity for
rural Kentucky in coming decades,” said Anthony “Tony” Campbell, president and CEO of EKPC, in a recent news release. EKPC provides electricity to 16 electric cooperatives that serve 1.1 million Kentucky residents in 89 counties. “EKPC is building for the future, protecting reliable plants, hedging against high energy costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Campbell.
The Kentucky Public Service Commission in late December granted the utility Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity for the construction of two proposed solar power facilities: the 96-MW Northern Bobwhite Solar Project in Marion County, north of Lebanon, and the 40-MW Bluegrass Plains Solar Project in Fayette County.
“Over the next few years, EKPC will take steps to meet Kentucky’s energy needs for decades to
come,” said Don Mosier, the utility’s COO and executive vice president, in a recent news release. “We are taking a comprehensive approach that safeguards reliability and cost-competitiveness, while boosting sustainability. Greater fleet diversity means access to low-cost energy when it is available, along with reliable, flexible power plants to keep electricity flowing when it is needed the most.”
EKPC has a goal to reduce its emissions of carbon dioxide emissions by 35% by 2035.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
