LG&E and KU Supporting Kentucky’s Hydrogen Hub Efforts
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Feb. 28, 2022) — Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company (LG&E and KU) have joined the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet’s Hydrogen Hub initiative to make hydrogen a low-carbon solution for the future.
As announced in October by Governor Andy Beshear, part of Kentucky’s energy strategy is to become a hydrogen hub. The U.S. Secretary of Energy is expected to create several hydrogen hubs across the country with federal funding.
“We believe because of our low-cost energy, abundant natural resources, and leadership in energy issues, Kentucky is one of the best candidates to be a hydrogen hub,” said Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Goodman. “We appreciate LG&E and KU’s efforts to support this important clean energy initiative.”
“Joining the cabinet and others across Kentucky to help promote hydrogen is a natural fit for our companies,” said Lonnie Bellar, LG&E and KU chief operating officer. “In conjunction with our parent company, PPL, our goal is to reach net zero by 2050, and we know this will not be easy. Research is going to be key to making this goal a reality.”
PPL is an anchor sponsor of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Low-Carbon Resource Initiative (LRCI) to accelerate the development of a low-carbon strategy. That initiative, chaired by PPL President and CEO Vince Sorgi, will seek advances in a variety of low-carbon electric generation technologies and low-carbon energy carriers, such as hydrogen, synthetic fuels and biofuels.
To that end, LG&E and KU launched several projects last year with the University of Kentucky on integrating renewable energy, hydrogen production, carbon capture and net negative carbon emissions for natural gas combined cycle plants. LG&E and KU have partnered with UK for more than 30 years on cutting-edge sustainability research projects and launched their carbon dioxide capture research program in 2006 with an initial $1.5 million investment. LG&E and KU, EPRI, and LCRI are currently working together with the university on a novel project that focuses on producing clean hydrogen while also capturing carbon dioxide directly from the air.
Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, part of the PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) family of companies, are regulated utilities that serve more than 1.3 million customers and have consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. LG&E serves 332,000 natural gas and 425,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties. KU serves 564,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia. More information is available at www.lge-ku.com and www.pplweb.com.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
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