Beshear says he lobbied hard for aluminum plant that went elsewhere
By Curtis Tate
January 29, 2026 at 6:24 PM EST
Gov. Andy Beshear says no one worked harder than him to bring an aluminum smelter to Kentucky. It went to Oklahoma instead.
Beshear said he had assurances from the Biden administration two years ago that northeast Kentucky was the preferred site for the first U.S. aluminum smelter in decades.
This week, Century Aluminum said it entered a partnership with Emirates Global Aluminum to build the plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“I went up to DC four or five times to lobby for an award, a grant. It was a half a billion dollars, to Century,” Beshear said. “Now in their application, it said it was coming to Kentucky.”
Beshear said he wasn’t sure if the Trump administration had changed the terms of the grant or if Century wound up foregoing it.
He did say Kentucky needed to diversify its energy mix to become more attractive to companies like Century. Oklahoma generates about 40% of its power with wind, whereas Kentucky uses coal for 67% of its electricity.
“Companies that come always want the following in their energy,” he said. “They want it to be affordable, reliable and sustainable, and really, in that order, they've got to hit the right price point to make sure that they can make a profit creating and selling their product.”
Beshear said he had assurances from the Biden administration two years ago that northeast Kentucky was the preferred site for the first U.S. aluminum smelter in decades.
This week, Century Aluminum said it entered a partnership with Emirates Global Aluminum to build the plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“I went up to DC four or five times to lobby for an award, a grant. It was a half a billion dollars, to Century,” Beshear said. “Now in their application, it said it was coming to Kentucky.”
Beshear said he wasn’t sure if the Trump administration had changed the terms of the grant or if Century wound up foregoing it.
He did say Kentucky needed to diversify its energy mix to become more attractive to companies like Century. Oklahoma generates about 40% of its power with wind, whereas Kentucky uses coal for 67% of its electricity.
“Companies that come always want the following in their energy,” he said. “They want it to be affordable, reliable and sustainable, and really, in that order, they've got to hit the right price point to make sure that they can make a profit creating and selling their product.”