Beshear Calls for Nuclear and Clean Power: Promoting Coal-to-Liquid Technology and Lifting Bans Will Keep Jobs in, and Bring New Ones to, the Region

Friday, November 21, 2008 5:54 AM

(Source: The Paducah Sun)By Bill Bartleman, The Paducah Sun, Ky.

Nov. 21--Western Kentucky would benefit from a comprehensive energy policy that includes consideration of nuclear power plants, nuclear recycling facilities and coal-to-liquid fuel plants, Gov. Steve Beshear said Thursday.

Beshear released a 144-page plan that he hopes to begin implementing next year when the General Assembly meets. It will take several years to carry out some parts of the plan because of the potential cost, Beshear said in a phone interview.

He said the plan would help make Kentucky a leader in the national effort to reduce energy dependence on foreign countries, many of which are enemies of the United States.

"It also has an economic development benefit," Beshear said. "If we are successful in carrying it out, 40,000 new jobs would be created by 2025."

He said one of the early goals would be to lift the state's 1979 ban on building new nuclear power plants.

"It is time to have conversations about the role that nuclear power should play in the future," Beshear said. "It already is part of our strategy nationally because we produce 20 percent of our electricity by nuclear energy."Read more...