Local officials—both lawmakers and utility leaders—agree that the future of energy in the county is nuclear.
But they also agree that a nuclear energy future won’t begin for another 10, 20 or 30 years, and until then, it’s going to be an all-of-the-available energy sources situation to deliver us there.
Energy, and how we get it, is one of the most intriguing—and divisive—questions we face today in the county, in the United States and the world. Bypassing all the debate, the answer everyone agrees on is that more energy is needed, especially with more big data and data centers on the way.
There’s also the rise of AI, which appears to be the soon-to-be favorite method of conducting searches—the common phrase “Google it” seems to be transforming to “Ask AI” or something similar. AI, by the way, uses energy.
And then there are the data centers that are popping up, requiring a massive amount of energy.
I’m no energy expert, but it appears its demand won’t decrease, unless the country and the world collectively decides to return to an agrarian lifestyle, which only a small percentage of hardy souls are embracing. (And I applaud them, for I often feel the need to escape work in front of a glowing screen.)
So, as we wait for the arrival of nuclear energy, the debates will center on current ideologies surrounding energy—more precisely renewable energy versus fossil fuels, which is occurring right now in Henderson County
The impetus of this piece was spurred by my interest in data centers and the possibility of one locating in Henderson. That was quashed by both Henderson state Sen. Robby Mills and Henderson Municipal Power & Light General Manager Brad Bickett.
“More than likely not,” said Mills. He said a data center would have a better chance of landing in the other counties he represents—Hopkins, Webster or Union counties.
“I don’t think it’s likely,” Bickett said of a data center in Henderson.
The continued questioning and research for the piece, though, came from the realization mentioned above—we are using more energy than ever and will use more.
State Rep. J.T. Payne, while speaking at the Sept. 21 Lincoln Day Dinner, described the state of energy as a crisis. Mills has also made similar comments.
Mills continues to support coal as the method to provide dispatchable base load generation so that power is going 24/7. He said there are talks about how to re-start coal plants that have been retired. That could require improving efficiencies in those plants and cleaner burning coal, he said.
Solar energy has come to Henderson, and solar farms are numerous thoughout the country. Wind farms, as well, are numerous. It remains to be seen what happens here regarding wind energy.
Local utilities, though, say they will continue the all-of-the-above approach to delivering energy on the way to a nuclear energy future.
“Nuclear power must be part of the future,” said Big Rivers CEO Don Gulley in an email to the Hendersonian. “However, even with the addition of nuclear, it will continue to take an ‘all of the above’ strategy to reliably and affordably serve Members in western Kentucky.”
Gulley also wrote that Big Rivers’ dispatchable sources include coal, natural gas power plants and contracts for hydro and solar.
“Nuclear energy is still several years away in Kentucky,” according to Gulley, who in 2024 was appointed to sit on the Kentucky Nuclear Development Authority, tasked with exploring the future of nuclear power in Kentucky. “Until nuclear energy is available, a bridge of dispatchable energy generation will be needed to serve Kentucky residents reliably and affordably.” He said “any meaningful nuclear generation” probably won’t come online till the 2045 to 2050 timeframe.
Bickett agreed with that timeframe.
A part of HMP&L’s dispatchable energy plan had been to build a battery energy storage system on South Green Street. But recently, that initiative was tabled indefinitely. The current local public reaction toward renewable energy was one reason that initiative was put on pause.
Now, HMP&L is exploring the addition of a natural gas plant. The Hendersonian reported in October that HMP&L signed a contract with consulting group 1898 & Co. and has tasked the firm to determine the feasibility of HMP&L building and then running a natural gas generating plant.
That, according to Bickett, would be one piece of HMP&L’s all of the above strategy to get to the nuclear energy age. HMP&L’s portfolio, as a part of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the powergrid of which HMP&L is a member, includes solar, coal, hydro, wind and natural gas.
Finally, like all forms of energy, dealing with waste is always a concern. Think about some of the concerns that have arisen with local opponents to solar and windmills. Examples of those concerns include questions about what happens to solar panels or windmill blades after they’re decommissioned. Are they recycled? And how? And where?
There are concerns about nuclear waste as well, especially with nuclear fission.
Fission is the splitting of the nucleus of an atom to create massive amounts of energy. But that creates radioactive waste and finding a centralized storage facility—deep underground—has not yet occurred. Right now, nuclear waste is stored on site of nuclear power plants across the country. Finding a way to store this is one of the big challenges, along with the palatability of the American public, in using nuclear energy on a bigger scale nationwide.
Fusion, meanwhile, is when nuclear reactions between light elements form heavier elements, producing energy along the way. Creating fusion, which is the energy source of the stars, requires similar temperatures that are on par with those temps in stars and something that’s been difficult to reproduce on Earth. Bickett, and others, are hopeful that fusion technology advances because the waste produced is relatively minimal in comparison to fission.
Like anything, though, it’s going to take money and leadership to get us to a nuclear future—and even then the public might not find nuclear energy palatable. As we wait—and maybe after—the battles for the type of energy we pursue and use will continue sure enough as the demand for it does.