The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, chaired by Gov. Steve Beshear, approved the South Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation for $10,150 in American Recovery & Reinvestment Act funds and $10,150 in state agricultural development funds to conduct a feasibility study of biomass potential in the Lake Cumberland region.

“With the help of the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund, we are positioning agriculture to be a leader in the development of alternative energy sources,” said Gov. Beshear. “Projects such as this play an integral role in achieving this goal.”

The goal of this project is to determine the viability of constructing a 5-50 megawatt biomass facility in the Lake Cumberland region. South Kentucky RECC in collaboration with NEAtech LLC will evaluate the amount of biomass potentially available in the region, including forest, agriculture, mill residues and poultry litter. The agricultural resources to be studied include corn, corn cobs and stover, soybean stover, wheat straw, switchgrass and all types of hay crops.

The Multi-County Agricultural Energy Initiative is a program that encourages regional collaboration by providing a 1:1 match with ARRA funds and state Agricultural Development Funds for agriculturally related renewable energy projects. This program is the result of the partnership between GOAP and the Department for Energy Development & Independence.

This project was one of the eight proposals approved at the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board’s April business meeting.


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