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April 21. Governor Steve Beshear got a tour of Kentucky's first "Green Build Kentucky" home. This program, sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Kentucky, provides points to homebuilders for adding environmentally-friendly features. To earn the "Green Build" label, a third party must certify all green features. All "Green Build" homes must be ENERGY STAR certified for energy efficiency. Other green features builders can earn credits for are site management, waste reduction, and indoor air quality.
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April 19. Anne Hopkins, General Manager, and Dan Arnett, Facilities Manager, accepted the ENERGY STAR certificate from Governor Beshear on behalf of Good Foods Market. Good Foods Market earned the ENERGY STAR, one of only two ENERGY STAR groceries stores in the state, by working with partners to install efficient lighting, programmable thermostats, reflective window treatments, and other improvements to save energy and money.
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April 18. Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear, state legislators, and local officials helped Caywood Elementary faculty, staff, and students celebrate Earth Day with a recognition of the school's second ENERGY STAR. Caywood Elementary is the first school in the state to earn the ENERGY STAR two years in a row.
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April 17. Mayor Jerry Abramson, of Louisville Metro, recognized five ENERGY STAR buildings for energy efficiency in a ceremony with Officials from the Governor's Office of Energy Policy. Facilities recognized were the Aegon Building (with Hines) and the E-ON Center (with E-ON US and Group Harbor International), two of only three ENERGY STAR offices in the state; the CEMEX Kosmos Cement Plant, the first cement plant with the ENERGY STAR; and the Courtyard Marriott Louisville (with Remington and Ashford Hospitality), the first ENERGY STAR hotel in the state.
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March 18-19. GOEP sponsored its sixth annual High Performance Sustainable Schools workshop. Over 170 school superintendents, board members, facilities managers, architects and engineers attended to learn how to apply high performance concepts to their next school construction or renovation project. This year the keynote speaker was Ron Bratlie who was involved in the construction of the first high performance high school, and the first LEED certified school in Minnesota. These workshops have resulted in the construction of a number of high performance energy-efficient schools in Kentucky.
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March 8 - April 12. The Kentucky Green Energy Roadshow is a collaborative effort to educate the public about clean and green energy options currently used in the state of Kentucky. Participants will get to hear from skilled professionals on topics such as green building design and construction, applying energy efficiency and conservation in your home or business, and renewable energy technologies. Event information is available from the Kentucky Solar Partnership  .
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2008 Kentucky
Green Energy Roadshow
March 8, Moorehead
March 29, London
April 5, Owensboro
April 12, Covington |
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(L-R) Jon Draud and John Davies present the award the Larry Woods.
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February 25. The Butler County School System was recognized for their leadership in energy efficiency. North Butler Elementary is the twelfth school in the state to earn the Energy Star, saving the school district approximately $18,000 in annual utility bills. Efficiency savings throughout the District have entirely paid for technology upgrades in the district's schools, without any tax increases. Accepting the Governor's Energy Star certificate on behalf of the school system was Superintendent Larry Woods (right, in photo). John Davies (center), Director of the Division of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, and Kentucky Department of Education Commissioner Jon Draud (left) presented the award.
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February 1. In recognition of their accomplishments as the first Energy Star hospital in the state, John Davies presented the Governor's Energy Star certificate to St. Lukes Hospital staff in Ft. Thomas, Kentucky. Mike Kueckenmister, the facility manager, said the energy-efficiency improvements to the 57-year old, 401,774 square foot facility, included upgrades to the main boiler and chiller, and conversion to an environmentally friendly refrigerant. All these improvements were made without sacrificing comfort, and freed up resources for better health care.
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Accepting the award are (L-R) CEO Nancy Kramer, staff, Facility Engineer Mike Kueckenmister. |
November 28, 2007 - The Nelson County Justice Center has earned the prestigious ENERGY STAR from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy for its energy efficiency. The Nelson County Justice Center is the first courthouse in Kentucky to receive the ENERGY STAR and one of only 13 state or local courthouses nationwide. The 50,000-square-foot justice center includes several energy-saving features including a geothermal heating and cooling system utilizing geothermal water-source heat pumps, energy-recovery units and a direct-digital control system to optimize the building's energy usage. Representatives from the Administrative Office of the Courts, CMTA Engineers, Inc., the Governor's Office of Energy Policy, JRA Architects and Nelson County Fiscal Court hosted a news conference on November 28 at the new Justice Center in Bardstown. [Nelson County Justice Center Booklet (pdf – 2.1 mb)]
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November 16, 2007 – Over 200 Kentucky businesses, utility, governmental, academic, consumer and environmental leaders met to discuss an action plan for energy efficiency at the “Second Annual Kentucky Energy Efficiency Conference”. The conference was organized by a group that includes environmental organizations, consumer groups, government agencies such as the Governor’s Office of Energy Policy and all of the state’s major gas and electric utilities. It explored initiatives that can be undertaken in Kentucky to address the challenges of increased energy efficiency and consumer awareness. [Article]
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November 9, 2007 – The Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition and the Governor’s Office of Energy Policy announce a request for proposals to develop Biodiesel infrastructure in Kentucky. This RFP is part of a continuing effort to locate Biodiesel storage and distribution equipment in strategic locations throughout the Commonwealth. The fueling hubs created by this initiative reduce freight costs and make Biodiesel more economical and more widely available across Kentucky. [Request for Proposals]
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October 6-7, 2007 – Join us for the 2007 Bluegrass Energy & Green Living Expo in Lexington's Heritage Hall Convention Center. The event brings together the business, education, government, and non-profit sectors to educate Kentuckians about proven healthy living, energy conservation, and renewable energy solutions, and connect consumers with marketers of related products and services.
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Photo credit:
sweetsorghum.net
October 5, 2007 – The Governor’s Office of Energy Policy will provide a total of $860,697 in funding to three universities for energy research projects. The University of Louisville, Western Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky will receive funds to complete seven research projects targeted at advancing the goals of the Commonwealth's Comprehensive Energy Strategy. [Press Release]
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Stan Cave, Chief of Staff for former Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher, signs the 2007 Change a Light Pledge.
October 3-6, 2007 – To celebrate “Change a Light, Change the World” month, the Governor’s Office of Energy Policy held a pledge drive in their office building, the Capital Plaza Tower, Frankfort, KY. During the pledge drive, all occupants of the building (approximately 730) were encouraged to change at least one traditional style bulb to a more energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulb. Each person taking the pledge was automatically entered in a drawing to win six compact fluorescent bulbs. Mini-grant funds are available to help organizations with the ‘Change a Light, Change the World’ campaign - the deadline is October 12.
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October 1-2, 2007
The Governor’s Conference on the Environment had an energy theme this year. Topics included biodiesel, climate change, carbon trading and emissions offsets, energy management, the recently passed energy bill, regulatory barriers and issues, and energy initiatives.
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Twenhofel Middle School students. 2007 Kentucky NEED Junior Level Winner.
August 24, 2007 – The Governor’s Office of Energy Policy awarded Kentucky NEED a $100,000 grant for the design and delivery of an energy education program for teachers and students in grades K-12. Kentucky NEED is the state affiliate of the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project which is dedicated to comprehensive, hands-on energy education. The grant will be used to fund an EnergySmart Schools Coordinator, host teacher-student workshops and purchase NEED curriculum materials.
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August 23, 2007 – Join us for a Kentucky 25x'25 town hall meeting. Make plans to attend the Kentucky Rural Energy Consortium (KREC) town hall meetings to explore new ideas and opportunities for securing Kentucky’s energy and economic future. Invitation (507kB PDF)
Frankfort - Monday, August 27
Somerset - Tuesday, September 18
Princeton - Tuesday, October 16
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Credit: Kentucky State Fair.
August 16-26, 2007 – The Governor’s Office of Energy Policy and the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture hosted a 3,000 sq ft exhibit at Kentucky State Fair to showcase the cost savings and energy efficiency of using ENERGY STAR qualified products and building practices. The exhibit featured a construction model of an ENERGY STAR home, ENERGY STAR lighting and appliances and applications for solar hot water heating. Take a virtual tour of the exhibit.
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Photo: (left to right) Cam Metcalf, Executive Director KPPC; Dr. Manuel Martinez-Maldonado, Executive VP for Research UofL; John Davies, Director Division of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Kentucky GOEP; Dr. James Ramsey, President UofL; Dr. Mickey Wilhelm, Dean J.B. Speed School of Engineering UofL.
July 31, 2007 – Former Governor Ernie Fletcher announced a $308,900 grant from the Governor’s Office of Energy Policy to the University of Louisville (U of L) and the Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center (KPPC) for energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives.
KPPC, part of the J.B. Speed School of Engineering at U of L, will use the grant to expand the Kentucky Energy Efficiency Program for Schools, conduct energy assessments to help Kentucky businesses and industries improve profitability, and participate in the national 25x’25 Action Plan. [Full Article]
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Photo: Director Division Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Division John Davies (second from left) presented the grant award to Dr. Jimmy Henning, Associate Dean for Extension and Director of the Cooperative Extension Service, Dr. Carol Hanley, Executive Director, Tracy Farmer Center and Dr. Rich Gates, Department Chair, Biosystems and Agriculture Engineering at UK’s College of Agriculture.
July 19, 2007 – The Governor’s Office of Energy Policy (GOEP) awarded $175,100 in grants to the University of Kentucky (UK) to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy education throughout the commonwealth.
The funding, from the federal State Energy Program grant, promotes ENERGY STAR at more than 50 events across the state. In addition, the grant allows the Tracy Farmer Center for the Environment to conduct teacher training on energy efficiency in collaboration with UK’s Center for Applied Energy Research and the Kentucky National Energy Education Project (NEED). [Full Article]