Success Stories for Kentucky
Fort Knox Enlists Help of Co-op for Energy Savings: Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation (Nolin RECC) (KY-051), Elizabethtown, Kentucky, wins Community Service Award for conservation program. A longstanding relationship between a Kentucky co-op and an army base has resulted in energy savings, improved quality of life for 23,000 soldiers and civilians and helped saved many jobs. When officials at Fort Knox received orders to cut energy use by 35 percent by 2010, they turned to Nolin RECC for help conserving energy on the 109,000-acre base.
Nolin RECC has offered so many ideas that the base saves about $10 million annually-and has cut its energy use by one-third.
For dedication to helping Fort Knox modernize its energy infrastructure, Nolin RECC received the NRECA 2006 National Community Service Award honorable mention. Nolin RECC has worked with the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp. to secure $50 million in financing for energy upgrades, said Vince Heuser, vice president of system operations.
At Nolin RECC's recommendation, the base has replaced outdated heating and cooling equipment with geothermal systems in 42 buildings - 1.7 million sq. ft. of space. Fort Knox also has replaced outdated forced-gas air heaters with infrared heat, Heuser said.
Other energy-saving techniques include spray-foam insulation on roofs to reduce energy loss; a building-automation system that controls heat and air conditioning in all base buildings; and two generators that produce electricity only during peak usage. The base has installed motion-detector thermostats and lights in offices. "Those are small things, but when you multiply by thousands, it adds up," Heuser explained.
In 2005, when the Base Realignment and Closure Commission was determining which bases would be closed, the many energy-saving measures taken at Fort Knox likely added up to keeping the base intact, along with the jobs it provides the local community. "One of the things they looked at is the base's infrastructure and the condition of its buildings," Heuser said, "and with newly energy-efficient buildings on the base, it did give [Fort Knox] an edge in the process."
Compliments of NRECA's "Electric Co-op TODAY", March 31, 2006 edition, Volume 12, Number 13.
April 2006
Landfill gas renewable energy plant to be built in Hardin County: East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) (KY-059), Winchester, Kentucky, is making preparations to build Kentucky's newest renewable energy plant at the Pearl Hollow Landfill, located south of the Bluegrass Parkway in eastern Hardin County, near the Nelson County line.
The new plant, which would produce electric power from decaying trash, joins EKPC's three landfill gas-to-electric plants (in Greenup, Laurel and Boone counties) and is located in Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative's service territory.
Prior to the announcement of the Pearl Hollow project, EKPC already ranked as one of the leaders in renewable energy production in the Southeastern United States. Each plant costs about $4 million to build.
"The Pearl Hollow plant will be another step forward in developing renewable energy in Kentucky," said Ralph Tyree, EKPC's manager of non-traditional power production. "When this plant goes commercial at the end of this year, it will provide enough clean, renewable energy for our member systems to supply electricity to more than 2,000 Kentucky homes."
At most landfills, gas from decaying trash is emitted into the atmosphere or burned off. Tapping the methane from a landfill to produce electricity, a process that has been used in other areas of the country for years, is relatively new to Kentucky.
The Hardin County plant will be almost identical to the first three renewable plants EKPC built in 2003, and includes a 5,000-square-foot building and three Caterpillar low-emission engine/generators.
The transmission design of this project will be somewhat different than the previous three projects. EKPC and Elizabethtown-based Nolin RECC engineers are working closely to interconnect this project into an existing Nolin distribution feeder serving the site.
"In addition to being an environmental asset, this plant will provide an added level of electric reliability to the area," said Vince Heuser, vice president of System Operations at Nolin RECC. "The amount of power generated by this facility will serve the present and future needs of every Nolin member in the Colesburg and Youngers Creek area."
Pending regulatory approvals, construction will take place this year and include three engines, producing approximately 2.4 megawatts of power. Two additional engines are expected to be added within five years, bringing total output from the plant to four megawatts of power. Approvals are needed from the Kentucky Public Service Commission, the Kentucky Division of Air Quality and the federal Rural Utilities Service.
Fourteen electric cooperatives sell the renewable energy produced from the landfill gas plants to retail customers through a program called EnviroWatts. With EnviroWatts, customers pay only $2.75 more per month for each 100-kilowatt block of green power. The customer has the option to enroll for all or just a portion of their electric bill.
Participating EnviroWatts co-ops include: Big Sandy RECC of Paintsville, Blue Grass Energy of Nicholasville, Clark Energy in Winchester, Cumberland Valley Electric in Gray, Fleming-Mason Energy in Flemingsburg, Grayson RECC of Grayson, Inter-County Energy of Danville, Jackson Energy of McKee, Licking Valley RECC in West Liberty, Nolin RECC of Elizabethtown, Owen Electric in Owenton, Salt River Electric of Bardstown, Shelby Energy of Shelbyville and South Kentucky Rural Electric in Somerset.
Of the 6,000 landfills across the U.S., there are about 340 with landfill gas-to-electric projects currently in operation. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates as many as 500 additional landfills could cost effectively tap methane as an energy source, producing enough electricity to power one million homes across the country.
September 2005