E.ON U.S.

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E.ON U.S., a subsidiary of E.ON, owns and operates Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E), "a regulated utility that serves 318,000 natural gas and 390,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties", and Kentucky Utilities Company (KU), a regulated electric utility in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.A., that serves 518,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia."[1] Louisville Gas and Electric Company and the Kentucky Utilities Company have, according to E.ON U.S., "a joint generation capacity of 7,600 MW" [megawatts].[2]

E.ON U.S. also owns Western Kentucky Energy Corporation, which until July 2009 had been leasing and operating five coal-fired plants owned by Big Rivers Electric Corporation in Western Kentucky. [3] E.ON U.S. also has shareholdings in three Argentinian gas distribution companies.[2]

Existing Coal Plants

E.ON U.S. owns several coal-fired power stations operated by its subsidiaries LG&E and KU:

Plant State Year(s) Built Capacity
Cane Run Station KY 1962, 1966, 1969 645 MW
Mill Creek Station KY 1972, 1974, 1978, 1982 1,717 MW
Trimble County Generating Station KY 1990, 2011 1,316 MW
Roanoke Valley Energy Facility NC 1994, 1995 240 MW
E.W. Brown Generating Station KY 1957, 1963, 1971 739 MW
Ghent Generating Station KY 1974, 1977, 1981, 1984 2,226 MW
Green River Generating Station KY 1954, 1959 189 MW
Tyrone Generating Station KY 1953 75 MW

Proposed Coal Plants

Affiliations

E.ON US is a member of:

Coal lobbying

E.ON U.S. spent $90,000 on the services of the C2 Group, LLC, in 2008. C2 lobbyists working on the account were G. Hunter Bates, John Cline, Thomas Crawford, Lesley Elliott, Michael Hanson and Nelson Litterst.[6]

E.ON Climate and Renewables spent $20,000 on the services of Alston & Bird, LLP in the second quarter of 2008. The registered lobbyist working on the account was Jon Chase.[7]

E.ON is a member of the American Coal Ash Association (ACAA), an umbrella lobbying group for all coal ash interests that includes major coal burners Duke Energy, Southern Company and American Electric Power as well as dozens of other companies. The group argues that the so-called "beneficial-use industry" would be eliminated if a "hazardous" designation was given for coal ash waste.[8]

ACAA set up a front group called Citizens for Recycling First, which argues that using toxic coal ash as fill in other products is safe, despite evidence to the contrary.[8]

E.ON makes EPA list of 44 "high hazard" coal ash dumps

In response to demands from environmentalists as well as Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California), chair of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, the EPA made public a list of 44 "high hazard potential" coal waste dumps. The rating applies to sites at which a dam failure would most likely cause loss of human life, but does not include an assessment of the likelihood of such an event. Kentucky has 6 sites, all of which are owned by E.ON subsidiaries.[9]

The following table is derived from EPA's official list of Coal Combustion Residue (CCR) Surface Impoundments with High Hazard Potential Ratings. To see the full list of sites, see Coal waste.[10]

Company Facility Name Unit Name Location
E.ON-owned Kentucky Utilities Company E.W. Brown Generating Station Auxiliary Pond Harrodsburg, KY
E.ON-owned Kentucky Utilities Company E.W. Brown Generating Station Ash Pond Harrodsburg, KY
E.ON-owned Kentucky Utilities Company Ghent Generating Station Gypsum Stacking Facility Ghent, KY
E.ON-owned Kentucky Utilities Company Ghent Generating Station Ash Pond Basin 1 Ghent, KY
E.ON-owned Kentucky Utilities Company Ghent Generating Station Ash Pond Basin 2 Ghent, KY
E.ON-owned Louisville Gas & Electric Co Cane Run Station Ash Pond Louisville, KY

Contact Details

Website: http://www.eon-us.com/home.asp

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

References

  1. "About E.ON U.S.", E.ON U.S. website, accessed June 2009.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Company Profile", E.ON U.S. website, accessed June 2009.
  3. "Unwind of lease agreements completed between Big Rivers, E.ON U.S." Big Rivers Website, July 16, 2009.
  4. American Coal Council, "Coal Consumers", American Coal Council website, accessed June 2009.
  5. American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, "ACCCE Members", American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity website, accessed June 2009.
  6. "E. On U.S", Center for Public Integrity, accessed September 2009.
  7. "E.On Climate and Renewables", Center for Public Integrity, accessed September 2009.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Coal-Fired Utilities to American Public: Kiss my Ash DeSmogBlog.com & PolluterWatch, October 27, 2010.
  9. Shaila Dewan, "E.P.A. Lists ‘High Hazard’ Coal Ash Dumps," New York Times, June 30, 2009.
  10. Fact Sheet: Coal Combustion Residues (CCR) - Surface Impoundments with High Hazard Potential Ratings, Environmental Protection Agency, June 2009.

External articles

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