KY’s utility regulator seeks more public feedback on nuclear energy development
Kentuckians across the commonwealth will have six opportunities in the coming months to provide their opinion on the impact of nuclear generation and storage to their communities.
There are no nuclear power plants in the state, but some lawmakers — and now Kentucky’s independent utility regulator— say momentum for one is building.
The Kentucky Public Service Commission, the agency responsible for regulating utilities, will host public information meetings starting at the end of February to comply with a directive from the Kentucky General Assembly to be ready to take on applications for nuclear energy facilities.
In the case opened in June 2025, the commission said the administrative proceeding to comply would be “incomplete” without public input.
“While the Commission always encourages interested citizens to give public comments, the potential impact nuclear generation and storage could have on any given community will be particularly significant,” the order said. “Therefore, the Commission finds that it is necessary and in the public interest to convene throughout the Commonwealth specifically for the purpose of inviting public comments from as many communities as practicable.”
The public information meetings will be held on the following dates and locations:
- Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. EST in Morehead, Morehead State University’s Ronald G. Eaglin Space Science Center
- March 17 at 5 p.m. EST in Louisville, University of Louisville’s J.B. Speed School of Engineering’s Student Success & Research Building
- March 25 at 5 p.m. EST in Lexington, Bluegrass Community and Technical College Newtown Campus
- April 1 at 5 p.m. CST in Paducah, Western Kentucky Community & Technical College Emerging Technology Center
- April 6 at 5 p.m. EST in Highland Heights, Northern Kentucky University’s University Center Budig Theatre
- April 8 at 5:30 p.m. CST in Bowling Green, Western Kentucky University’s Amy and David Chandler Hall Houchens Industries Auditorium
Adding nuclear energy as a power source to any community takes incredibly high startup, construction and operation costs.
Once online, some nuclear power plants produce waste that remains hazardous, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. To run nuclear power plants, operators usually rely on nonrenewable fuel sources, like uranium, the extraction of which produces carbon emissions and other types of pollution.
But once produced, nuclear energy can be used to heat water that creates steam for electricity and in medical, industrial and commercial applications, according to the World Nuclear Association.
While demand for electricity rises, nuclear energy as a power source is “increasingly seen as a reliable, dispatchable, clean energy source,” said Kentucky Public Service Commission Chair Angie Hatton in the Jan. 30 news release announcing the series of meetings.
“Recent technological advances have made nuclear energy potentially more affordable and attainable,” Hatton continued. “However, the technology is still very expensive, and we want to make sure we examine all angles of this potential power source, including its impact on ratepayers, electric grid reliability, our environment, economic development and our workforce in Kentucky as we explore our options.”
The Jan. 30 decision to host a series of public meetings is the latest in an administrative proceeding opened last summer “to create an opportunity for stakeholders in the commonwealth to discuss and investigate concerns and potential areas of opportunity involving nuclear energy.”
The June case is the result of the Kentucky General Assembly lifting a moratorium on constructing new nuclear power facilities in 2017 then creating the state’s Nuclear Energy Development Authority in 2024. Just one year before, Senate Joint Resolution 140 passed unanimously and directed the commission to make the preparations necessary to take on applications for nuclear facilities including training staff, contracting with experts and more.
In Paducah, two companies have already announced plans to enrich uranium, a critical step in the nuclear fuel cycle that increases the concentration of the element so it can be better used to generate power.
Last summer, the U.S. Department of Energy said four pieces of federal land, including the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, could be utilized to lower energy costs by increasing supply and in turn used to power artificial intelligence.
Also last summer, California-based General Matter said it would build a $1.5 billion enrichment facility at the site where it will employ 140 people. Construction is anticipated to start this year. Next to the same diffusion plant site, Global Laser Enrichment is building an enrichment facility using different technology.
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