Kentucky

Clean aluminum

Loss of green smelter highlights Kentucky’s need for clean electricity

Century Aluminum chose Oklahoma, not Kentucky, for a new smelter. Some say it’s a “wake-up call” for the Bluegrass State to modernize – and decarbonize – its grid.

By Maria Gallucci .

10 February 2026

Two long rows of solar panels on grass on an abandoned mining site beneath an overcast sky — Solar panels stand near the remains of coal mining equipment in Harlan County, Kentucky. (Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Energy markets

Why states are threatening to leave PJM — and why they probably won’t

The grid operator’s high power prices and long interconnection queue have Democratic and Republican governors eyeing an exit, but analysts warn it could backfire.

By Kathryn Krawczyk . 26 September 2025
Batteries

Facing headwinds, Ascend shifts plans for battery recycling in Kentucky

The lithium-ion battery recycler won’t make cathode active materials at its new facility, but it will produce cathode precursors and lithium carbonate.

By Julian Spector . 5 March 2025
Solar

Coal-to-solar developer BrightNight lands $440M investment

The funding from Goldman Sachs will help BrightNight to advance its 31-GW pipeline of renewables projects, including the Starfire solar farm in Kentucky.

By Maria Gallucci . 8 October 2024
Clean aluminum

Cans to car parts: Inside the complex, crucial world of aluminum recycling

Recycling aluminum involves a vast supply chain, from trash pickers to factories that melt scrap. It’s also crucial to slashing the metal’s carbon emissions.

By Maria Gallucci . 12 September 2024
Clean aluminum

A new green aluminum plant could bring jobs — and clean energy — to Kentucky

The coal-rich state wants to land the first new U.S. smelter in 45 years. But the deal won’t happen unless Kentucky can furnish lots of clean energy.

By Maria Gallucci . 10 September 2024
ENN

In the shadow of a reclaimed mine, this Kentucky center is retraining coal workers for high-tech manufacturing

The eKentucky Advanced Manufacturing Institute is a success story for federal efforts to revitalize coal communities, but it also highlights the challenges of seeding a 21st-century local economy.

By Keith Schneider . 8 June 2021
ENN

Biden vows to support struggling Appalachian counties, but residents are weary of failed promises

Coal communities in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia are struggling to support basic civic services as coal disappears. Federal funding to boost local economies and jobs is closer than ever before.

By Mason Adams . 2 June 2021
ENN

Commentary: Why we intervened in Kentucky Power's 3rd rate hike in 5 years

The Public Service Commission has an obligation to establish rates that are fair, just and reasonable to all ratepayers, writes Carrie Ray of the Mountain Association.

By Carrie Ray . 19 February 2021
ENN

Survival is anything but certain for coal country

Coal country is not without options. But coal’s long legacy of hope, promises and failure has instilled a political inertia that won’t soon be overcome.

By Mason Adams . 25 August 2020
ENN

Reckoning in coal country: How lax fiscal policy has left states flat-footed as mining declines

What happens when a $28.6 billion industry spirals into permanent decline?

By Mason Adams . 11 August 2020