A windy forecast could someday provide energy to Kentucky households.
Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities have installed the state’s first utility wind turbine. It's located at the E.W. Brown Generating Station in Mercer County.
The single turbine won’t produce a large amount of energy, only about 16 average homes over the course of a year. Instead, Daniel Lowry, spokesman for LG&E and KU, said the data collected from the turbine will determine the potential for wind as a renewable energy source.
“The key thing for us is to be able to see how well it’s able to do here in Kentucky, stated Lowry. "We’ll use the research to study the integration of wind energy in an area that typically isn’t the most wind-friendly in the country.”
The 165-foot turbine began operating this spring and could eventually complement the 44,000 solar panels at the E.W. Brown Generating Station. Solar power is best in the summer and in the daylight while wind provides more power at night and in the winter.
LG&E and KU's wind turbine is part of the companies' growing Renewable Integration Research Facility in Mercer County, which is also home to Kentucky's largest lithium-ion battery storage system, a microgrid, and a 120-megawatt solar farm. Data collected at the site will be shared with the University of Kentucky, among other research partners.
Currently, coal makes up 81% of LG&E and KU’s energy portfolio, followed by natural gas at 18%. Solar and hydro power account for only 1% of the utilities’ generation mix. The goal is for renewables to make up at least 9% by 2028 as the utilities retire coal-fired units.
