The Future of Nuclear Energy in Kentucky

Blog Post | 113 KY. L. J. ONLINE | April 4, 2025

The Future of Nuclear Energy in Kentucky

By: Ben Schaeffer, Staff Editor, Vol. 113 

In 2020, Kentucky ranked 8th amongst all states in electricity consumption per dollar of state GDP.[1] As Kentucky is set to become the home for advanced manufacturing facilities, including the 2 billion dollar Envision AESC plant in Bowling Green and the 5.8 billion dollar BlueOvalSK project in Hardin County, the need for reliable, diverse sources of electricity will be augmented so that Kentucky can maintain cheap prices for consumers and become a hub for industrial growth.[2] Historically, the vast majority of Kentucky’s electricity came from coal-fired plants.[3] In fact, just a decade ago, coal-fired plants produced 90% of Kentucky’s electricity; however, in light of greater contributions to the Commonwealth’s grid by natural gas-fired plants and various renewable sources, that number has since dwindled to 68% as of 2023.[4] In that same year, nuclear supplied, on average, approximately 20% of the nation’s electricity.[5] Unfortunately, Kentucky is yet to add nuclear to its energy portfolio.[6]

Not only will nuclear power enable the Commonwealth to reduce its carbon footprint, but also nuclear is an inherently more efficient means of electricity production compared to other sources that predominate our nation’s grid. For starters, the “capacity factor” of nuclear energy dwarfs that of other electricity-generating sources.[7] Capacity factor is a metric that quantifies the amount of electricity a generator can produce while operating at its fullest potential.[8] In fact, nuclear produces “reliable, carbon-free power” 92% of the time, while coal and natural gas operate at 49.3% and 54.4% respectively.[9] In terms of safety concerns, it is worth noting that current licensing and regulatory approvals by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission mandate that reactor designs must meet a 1 in 10,000 year reactor core damage frequency and the effects of a core meltdown must be confined to the plant.[10] As a result of recent changes in the regulatory process, legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and private funding, there has been a surging interest in nuclear.[11]

Kentucky is one such state that has borne witness to a burgeoning interest in nuclear power in the past several years. A strategic partnership between Kentucky’s Energy Office and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear galvanized bipartisan support for legislation testing the waters for nuclear energy in the Commonwealth just this past year.[12] Kenya Stump, an executive in Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Cabinet, cited the volatility of coal and the fact that she did not “‘want to be left with gas as our only baseload source’” as reasons for looking towards nuclear.[13] This news comes over a decade after then-Secretary of the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet Leonard Peters wrote to Governor Steve Beshear of the necessity of “maintaining a diversified energy portfolio” lest Kentucky’s electricity portfolio become “almost entirely dependent on natural gas” in light of the waning contributions of coal to our grid.[14]

Following the promulgation of a report by Stump’s working group that painted a positive picture of the prospect of nuclear energy and bipartisan efforts in Frankfort, SB 198 became law in spring of 2024.[15] Governor Andy Beshear initially vetoed the bill with objections to the legislative scheme which appointed private sector leaders to an organization that effectively bypassed the Governor’s appointment power; however, the veto was quickly overridden.[16] Amongst its myriad provisions, SB 198 perhaps most importantly establishes the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority (KNEDA) to be appended to the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research.[17]

The mission of KNEDA is to “serve as the nonregulatory, trusted state government agency on nuclear energy issues and development in the Commonwealth” and facilitate the development of nuclear energy in a collaborative manner that prioritizes environmental concerns, enhances the economy, and supports the voices of communities in underrepresented and historically impacted areas.[18] The act sets out the membership composition of KNEDA: there are a total of twenty-two voting members and eight non-voting members comprised of persons from the public and private sectors.[19] The purposes of KNEDA include engagement with stakeholders across the Commonwealth and cultivating the organizational and economic capacity for nuclear to develop.[20]Additionally, as a part of SB 198, the General Assembly codified provisions that establish a framework for identifying communities that may be ready and willing to develop nuclear energy-related projects and a financial assistance program for nuclear energy-related projects.[21] While the act is exploratory in scope, it will be interesting to see whether the Commonwealth embraces nuclear in the next decade. To be sure, the closure of coal plants will necessitate continued investment in electricity generating capacity from other sources of energy. SB 198 is a necessary first step in the direction of establishing nuclear as a reliable contributor to Kentucky’s grid, and it lays the very groundwork for a future of clean, efficient energy and economic prosperity in the Commonwealth.

[1] Kentucky Energy Profile, KY Energy & Env’t Cabinet 39 (2023), https://eec.ky.gov/Energy/KY%20Energy%20Profile/Kentucky%20Energy%20Profile%202023.pdf.

[2] Mark Green, Economic Development: Kentucky’s Economic Momentum Continues in 2025, The Lane Report (Dec. 1, 2024), https://www.lanereport.com/177911/2024/12/economic-development-kentuckys-economic-momentum-continues-in-2025/.

[3] See Kentucky State Profile and Energy Estimates, U.S. Energy Info. Admin (Mar. 20, 2025), https://www.eia.gov/state/data.php?sid=KY.

[4] Id.

[5] Kentucky Energy Profile, supra note 1, at 17.

[6] See Kentucky State Profile and Energy Estimates, supra note 3.

[7] See Office of Nuclear Energy, What is Generation Capacity?, U.S. Dep’t of Energy (May 1, 2020), https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/what-generation-capacity#:~:text=The%20Capacity%20Factor&text=Nuclear%20has%20the%20highest%20capacity,and%20solar%20(24.6%25)%20plants.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

[10] Safety of Nuclear Power Reactors, World Nuclear Ass’n (Aug. 23, 2024), https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/safety-of-nuclear-power-reactors.

[11] Casey Crownhart, Interest in Nuclear Power Is Surging. Is It Enough to Build New Reactors?, MIT Tech. Rev (Jan. 16, 2025), https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/01/16/1110016/new-nuclear-power/#:~:text=Lately%2C%20the%20vibes%20have%20been,to%20power%20their%20data%20centers.

[12] Donna Kemp Spangler, GAIN Helped Kentucky Clear the Runway for Nuclear Energy. Now the Coal-Dependent State Is Waiting for the Plane to Land, Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear, https://gain.inl.gov/gain-helped-kentucky-clear-the-runway-for-nuclear-energy/ (last visited Mar. 18, 2025).

[13] Id.

[14] Letter from Leonard Peters, Secretary, Ky. Energy & Env’t Cabinet, to Steve Beshear, Governor, Ky. (Dec. 16, 2013), https://stat.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/EEC_Model_Report.pdf.

[15] See Spangler, supra note 12; Gregory Dutton & Pierce Tomoki Stevenson, State Legislature Sparks Nuclear Energy Development in Kentucky with SB 198, Frost Brown Todd (May 16, 2024), https://frostbrowntodd.com/state-legislature-sparks-nuclear-energy-development-in-kentucky-with-sb-198/.

[16] Kentucky Governor Vetoes Nuclear Bill, Nuclear Newswire (Apr. 8, 2024, 10:30 AM), https://www.ans.org/news/article-5924/kentucky-governor-vetoes-nuclear-bill/; see Dutton supra note 15.

[17] Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 164.2802(1)(West 2025).

[18] § 164.2802(1)(b).

[19] See § 164.2802(2)(a)–(c).

[20] § 164.2802(7).

[21] § 164.2804(1); § 154.12-340.