Plans to create electricity from wind in Eastern Kentucky and make fuel from plants instead of pet-roleum at a future biodiesel plant in Win-chester were shared with state lawmakers in mid September.

Scott Sykes with Genesis Development, an Elkhorn City-based wind energy company that plans to develop large scale wind energy projects atop reclaimed or abandoned coal mines in Eastern Kentucky, told lawmakers on the Special Subcom-mittee on Energy that there are now 25 gigawatts of power produced by wind energy in the U.S  By placing wind “farms” atop Kentucky’s mountains, Sykes hopes to create power for homes and other structures in the region--all without harming coal.

Wind power, said Sykes, will complement Ken-tucky’s fossil-fuel industry by supplementing coal power rather than trying to undercut it, Sykes told lawmakers.

Alternative energy production in the Common-wealth was also discussed, with lawmakers focused on production of transportation fuels from  plant material called biomass.

Dr. Bruce Pratt of Eastern Kentucky University explained that EKU is working on a pilot plant in Winchester that will produce around 2 million gallons of biodiesel a year from biomass like switch grass and corn stover.  The pilot plant, which is a partnership between EKU and California-based General Atomics among others, will cost around $20-25 million to build and will precede the partnership’s planned construction of a 50-million gallon commercial plant.

Pratt said the commercial plant will require one million metric tons of biomass from within 50 miles of the plant (great news for our farmers) to produce biofuel at a cost of  $1.65 to $4 per gallon. It will also require additional funding, which Pratt said the partnership hopes to receive.

The EKU/General Atom-ics biofuel project is in its first phase of planning, with the first round of federal funding received Sept. 3. The pilot plant will be constructed during the second phase of the project, after the biofuel produced during the first phase is found to be engine-compatible.

Besides helping the environment, Pratt said biofuel can improve national security by reducing U.S. reliance on foreign oil from politically unstable nations. In 2008 alone, Pratt said the U.S. spent approximately $327 billion on foreign oil. If only 10 percent of those imports were replaced by biofuel made in the U.S., our nation would save around $33 billion while creating jobs and income in a number of industries, said Pratt.

One lawmaker commented on how many different regions of the U.S. could use a model plant like the one being developed by EKU and General Atomics since some types of biomass, including switchgrass, grow easily across the country. Fuel produced  from biomass would also be less expensive to transport than fuel produced from crude oil since it could be produced and used locally.

Other lawmakers were quick to point out that while biofuel efforts are welcome, efforts now underway to turn coal into transportation fuel shouldn’t be overlooked. The liquidification process that turns coal into diesel fuel can be done today, one lawmaker said, rather than taking years to develop.

The work taking place in the energy field here at home and nationwide is quite amazing and could have great implications for our environment and economy. I look forward to learning of more successes in the renewable and alternative energy field as time goes by.