FILE - Visitors fill the gallery of the House chamber, Friday, April 13, 2018, in Frankfort, Ky. Kentucky’s Republican-dominated legislature wrapped up work Friday, March 22, 2024, on a bill meant to lay the foundation to attract nuclear energy projects to a state where coal has reigned as king for generations, fueling the economy. FRANKFORT, Ky.
“This is in no way a competition to coal,” Republican state Rep. Randy Bridges said while shepherding the bill through the House. “It is complementary to coal. Kentucky is a coal state.”from around the world — including the United States, China, France, Britain and Saudi Arabia — committed “to work to fully unlock the potential of nuclear energy.”will be built on a former coal mine site in southeastern Kentucky.
“Kentucky is one step closer to the day when nuclear energy will take its place in Kentucky’s all-of-the-above energy portfolio,” Carroll said in a statement. The authority would be a nonregulatory agency on issues related to nuclear energy and its development in Kentucky. It also would support development of a “nuclear energy ecosystem” meant to enhance the economy, protect the environment, support community voices and prepare the future workforce.