See full-size image East Kentucky Power’s E.A. Gilbert Generating unit is one of the cleanest coal-generating units in the country.

In one of the top three producing coal states in the country, a Kentucky cooperative is the first utility in the state to use a cleaner method of burning this local energy resource. East Kentucky Power Cooperative began operation of its E.A. Gilbert Generating unit in March 2005. The unit is at the co-op’s Spurlock Station in Maysville, Ky.

Power Magazine named the Gilbert Unit as one of its top plants of 2005 because its circulating fluidized bed boiler makes it one of the cleanest coal units in America.

EKPC has also announced the construction of two identical clean-coal units. One of the units, Spurlock #4, will also be at Spurlock Station and the third will be at Smith Station near Winchester, Ky. Both are to be operational by 2009.

“These clean-coal units represent an investment of more than $1.3 billion investment in the people, the environment, the economy and people of Kentucky,” said Roy Palk, CEO of EKPC.

He added, “These units rank among the cleanest coal-generating units in the nation. The Gilbert Unit is the cleanest coal unit in Kentucky. They show why we believe that technology will ensure a long-term future for coal in this country.”

At a cost of more than $400 million each, all three units will use a technology called circulating fluidized bed process, which is recognized for extremely low emissions. The process removes 98 percent of the SO 2, and 80 percent of the NO X compared with conventional pulverized-coal units.

In addition, the units have the capability to burn several million tires a year and biomass such as sawdust and other wood products. The CFB boiler also has the ability to use a wide range of coals.

Over the course of three years, construction of the E.A. Gilbert Unit created up to 700 construction jobs, providing an average annual payroll of $60,000 per job. The project generated more than $1 million in city/county payroll taxes. Building the unit pumped more than $20 million in annual construction payroll into the local economy of Mason County and the surrounding region.

The Spurlock Station is named after the first general manager of EKPC. E.A. Gilbert, the namesake of the first clean-coal unit, played a crucial role in early efforts to expand rural electrification in Kentucky. He has been board chair at Blue Grass Energy Cooperative, based in Nicholasville, KY, for more than three decades and obtained a Bronze Star Medal and two Purple Hearts in World War II.