Lawmakers who passed a bill to lure nuclear energy to Kentucky say coal is still king

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s Republican-dominated legislature wrapped up work Friday on a bill meant to lay the foundation for nuclear energy in a state where coal has been king for generations, fueling the economy.

The House gave 92-0 final passage to send the measure to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. The bill cleared the Senate by a 34-0 vote last month.

While extolling the untapped potential for nuclear power, leading supporters of the bill were careful to stress that the intent is to have nuclear energy complement — not supplant — coal as an energy source.

“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.”

The vote in the coal-friendly Bluegrass State came a day after more than 30 nations 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.”

It also followed an announcement Thursday that a $1.3 billion pumped storage hydroelectric facility will be built on a former coal mine site in southeastern Kentucky. It was among clean-energy projects in five states to land funding support from President Joe Biden’s administration.

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