Thursday, March 21, 2013

Nuclear reactors could be alternative to coal as power and job source in E. Ky., state official says

If Eastern Kentucky continues to see a decline in coal, the official overseeing energy and environmental issues for the state thinks the region could turn to a different source of power: nuclear reactors, reports Ryan Alessi for cn|2, a news service of the Insight cable company, now owned by Time Warner.

Len Peters, a veteran engineer who is secretary of the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, told Alessi: “There are counties in Eastern Kentucky where there are really primarily two industries: coal and the school system. So when coal goes away, it is a primary employer. We look very, very carefully at what alternatives there are for electricity generation. If we are not going to permit a coal burning power plant, I think we’re going to begin to restrict our options … If we start narrowing those down, as a nation that’s not good, as a state that’s not good." (Read more)

But for that to happen, Kentucky legislators would have to repeal the state law banning nuclear plants in the state, which is the nation's third-leading coal producer.

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