Coal is big business in Kentucky. Average electricity costs in Kentucky were 5.43 cents/kilowatt-hour in 2006, the 4th lowest in the United States. Kentucky produced 125.9 million tons of coal in 2006, compared to the record production of 179.4 million tons set in 1990. Kentucky has been one of the top three coal producers in the United States for the last 50 years. Kentucky has two distinct coal fields, one in Western Kentucky and one in Eastern Kentucky. Kentucky’s 87.1 billion tons of coal resources remaining represent 83% of the original resource.
Electric power plants, located in 30 states, accounted for almost 89.3% of the Kentucky coal sold during 2006. Approximately 79.5% of the coal produced in Kentucky is sold out-of-state each year. There are 22 major coal-burning electric generating plants in Kentucky, and almost all (92.2%) of Kentucky’s electricity is generated from coal.
Posted by: Attorney Sanders
Categories:
coal