Kentucky's Approach to Electric Power Generation is Benefiting the Environment

Kentucky families are benefiting from newer and cleaner sources of energy and the work Black & Veatch is doing to improve communities and lives. With cleaner natural gas-generated power dramatically reducing emissions, residents will enjoy a better quality of life.

Black & Veatch’s wholly owned subsidiary, Overland Contracting Inc. (OCI), along with joint venture partner PCL Industrial, was awarded the EPC contract from Louisville Gas & Electric Company (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities Company (KU) to design and build a natural gas combined cycle generating unit at LG&E’s Cane Run location in Jefferson County, Kentucky. LG&E and KU, who first helped pioneer the use of environmental controls at coal plants in the 1970s, are again at the forefront of the industry in implementing the use of cleaner fuels.

Big Emissions Reduction

The new combined cycle plant, Cane Run Unit 7, replaces older, existing coal-fired units located at the same site. The plant will be fueled by cleaner burning natural gas and will provide up to 660 megawatts (MW) of capacity. This is the equivalent of powering approximately 660,000 homes.

Black & Veatch used proven technologies in the design of the Cane Run Unit 7 plant. The result will be a dramatic reduction in emissions – sulfur dioxide by more than 99 percent, nitrogen oxide by more than 85 percent and particulate by more than 50 percent. This is helping LG&E and KU meet emissions standards not only today but for decades into the future.

Families enjoying life in big cities and small towns; farmers working in fields of corn, soybeans and wheat, as well as apple and peach orchards; Kentuckians proud of bluegrass music, racehorses and hard work; will all benefit from the advancements in technology and improvements in air quality, thanks to the partnership of LG&E, KU and Black & Veatch.

Cane Run Unit 7 will provide up to 660 MW of capacity, the equivalent of powering approximately 660,000 homes.