Kentucky's uranium enrichment facility
Kentucky's uranium enrichment facility, known as the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, was established in 1952 near Paducah and served as the only low-grade uranium enrichment facility in the United States. Originally operated for military purposes, the plant transitioned to produce enriched uranium for commercial nuclear power plants starting in the 1960s. At its peak, it employed around 1,700 individuals, with the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) managing operations after its creation in 1992. However, in 2013, USEC ceased operations due to market competitiveness issues, leading the facility to be returned to the Department of Energy (DOE). Following its closure, the DOE has focused on addressing environmental concerns, particularly groundwater contamination from trichloroethylene (TCE) associated with the plant’s operations. Despite having uranium resources, Kentucky lacks nuclear power plants, although there is ongoing advocacy for constructing one to enhance energy production and job creation. Today, Kentucky remains a significant coal producer and is exploring various energy avenues, including biomass and hydroelectric power.
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Kentucky's uranium enrichment facility
Summary: Of the United States’ total energy in 2010, 24 percent depended on Kentucky, originating in either the coal exported from the state’s two coalfields or the enriched uranium rods produced at the country’s only low-grade uranium enrichment facility; however, the facility was shut down in 2013. By 2023, the state was the fifth-largest coal-producer in the United States.
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is located in the central-southern United States. Historically an agricultural economy, the state has come to rely more heavily on automobile manufacturing, medical facilities, and the energy sector.
Located in McCracken County, near Paducah, the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant was opened in 1952 as a government-owned facility to produce enriched uranium for military reactors and nuclear weapons. Beginning in the 1960s, the facility and its sister plant in Tennessee (later shuttered) began producing fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. The facility was operated by the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC), a publicly traded company created by the 1992 Energy Policy Act to privatize the enrichment of uranium for civilian use. The facility used about 3,000 megawatts of electricity in its operations, supplied by the Tennessee Valley Authority. At one point, about 1,700 people were employed to run the facility, 1,100 employees of USEC operated it, and the Department of Energy (DOE) contracted an additional 600 as maintainers of the grounds and infrastructure. The DOE also provides for the water needs of residents in the area, who would otherwise rely on wells that had become contaminated by trichloroethylene (TCE) as a result of the facility’s operations.
However, in 2013, USEC ceased the commercial operation of uranium enrichment at the facility as it had continuously proven unable to compete in the market. At that point, the facility was returned to the DOE, which began even more concerted efforts to address the issue of TCE contamination of groundwater in the area as part of a costly plan to deactivate, demolish, and clean up the facility.
Natural Gas
Natural gas production in Kentucky is fairly low, limited to the Big Sandy field in the east. Most of the natural gas used in Kentucky is imported, via a pipeline from the Gulf Coast, and is used by industry. As of 2023, one in three Kentucky households used natural gas to heat their homes. Production of natural gas in the state peaked at 135 billion cubic feet in 2010, but had fallen to 75 billion cubic feet by 2021.
What little crude oil Kentucky produces is refined at the Somerset refinery, along with crude from Tennessee and West Virginia. The larger Catlettsburg refinery processes crude oil imported via the Capline Pipeline from the Gulf Coast. Kentucky also has two ethanol plants, which supply the Louisville metropolitan area and the Kentucky suburbs of Cincinnati; these are the only two parts of the state to require reformulated motor gasoline blended with ethanol.
Despite the state’s uranium resources, Kentucky has no nuclear plants, but advocates have supported building one to help meet Kentucky’s consumption needs and create jobs. The biomass energy potential of Kentucky is quite high, given the prevalence of agricultural land and waste; by 2022, the state generated 0.6 percent of its renewable energy from biomass. Kentucky produced about 6 percent of its electricity output in 2022 from eleven hydroelectric dams.
Bibliography
"Kentucky." US Energy Information Administration, 21 Dec. 2023, www.eia.gov/state/analysis.php?sid=KY. Accessed 2 Aug. 2024.
“Kentucky Energy Infrastructure.” Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, 2024, kgs.uky.edu/kgsmap/kycoal/viewer.asp. Accessed 2 Aug. 2024.
"Paducah Site." U.S. Department of Energy, www.energy.gov/pppo/paducah-site. Accessed 2 Aug. 2024.
Wald, Matthew L. "Kentucky Operator to Cease Enrichment of Uranium." The New York Times, 24 May 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/05/25/business/usec-to-shut-uranium-enrichment-plant-in-kentucky.html. Accessed 2 Aug. 2024.