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Kentucky energy official outlines site‑screening method, $75 million site‑readiness program and 'nuclear‑ready' community test
Summary
Kentucky's Director of Energy Policy described ORSAGE-based site screening, a $75 million state package to support licensing up to three sites under Senate Bill 57, and a three‑part 'nuclear‑ready' community designation that emphasizes public forums, local approval and workforce training.
Director Kenya Stumpier of Kentucky's Office of Energy Policy told Delaware's SCR 18 Task Force that Kentucky used GAIN and Oak Ridge tools (ORSAGE) to screen potential regions and economic‑development sites rather than to select final locations. Stumpier said the screening focused on acreage, population within four miles, water for cooling, wetlands and protected lands, slope and landslide hazard, floodplains and proximity to hazardous facilities or seismic faults.
Stumpier emphasized the distinction between site screening and site selection. "We have not selected any proposed sites," she said, and described screening as a way to ‘‘point you in the right direction’’ before any on‑the‑ground work. She said Kentucky prioritized existing power and industrial sites for back‑fit potential because communities familiar with power production often engage more constructively than greenfield locations.
Stumpier described a recent legislative package that allocates $75,000,000 to support site readiness for up to three geographically dispersed sites and said funding is intended to help pay for early site licensing work. "The state of Kentucky is not recommending any sites," she said; instead the funds support site licensing work that utilities and developers must pursue in partnership to qualify for the program under Senate Bill 57.
She also outlined the "nuclear‑ready community" designation the state uses before endorsing site licensing assistance: at least two public forums with experts, a visible expression of community buy‑in (a local resolution or ballot measure), and demonstration of workforce training capacity plus economic‑development acknowledgement. The Nuclear Energy Development Authority will accept applications, down‑select up to three candidates and recommend them to the General Assembly for final approval, she said.
Stumpier warned that moving from screening to licensing requires on‑site studies — geotechnical borings, water and meteorological monitoring, archeology and conceptual layouts — and that pending NRC data requirements could affect what monitoring is required. She estimated Kentucky's modeling shows a need for roughly 3 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity by the mid‑2040s and said that submitting sites for licensing by about 2030 would be consistent with having projects online in the early 2040s.
Why it matters: Stumpier presented a practical sequence other states can adapt: (1) public education and community engagement, (2) technical screening using GIS/siting tools and existing site inventories, and (3) legislative or programmatic support for early site readiness and workforce training. For Delaware policymakers, the Kentucky model highlights the difference between publicly sharing screening results and avoiding premature signals of site selection, and it ties state financial support to clear community processes and utility partnerships.
What’s next: Stumpier agreed to circulate slides and GAIN/INL/Oak Ridge resources. Task Force members requested follow‑up work on floodplain guidance and transmission constraints for candidate sites.
