Kentucky Utilities was selected for a federal grant to upgrade its largest coal-burning power plant.
The Ghent Generating Station in Carroll County will receive a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to install a pollution control system.
According to the department, the funds will be used to install selective catalytic reduction at the plant to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, which can cause smog.
Ken Troske, an economics professor at the University of Kentucky, questioned why KU would make the long-term investment in coal when it could fall out of favor in the next administration.
“So why would I make a long term investment based on what I think is a very short term, short run policy?” he said. “Because I think the long run is not a world in which this is how we're going to be generating electricity.”
The department didn’t specify a dollar amount for the grant, but made $175 million available to six companies in four states.
In West Virginia, Appalachian Power’s John Amos and Mountaineer plants will receive grants, as will Mon Power’s Fort Martin Power Station.
In Ohio, Buckeye Power’s Cardinal plant will receive a grant. The Ohio Valley Electric Corporation’s Kyger Creek plant will receive one as well.
In North Carolina, Duke Energy’s Belews Creek Steam Station is another grantee.
With the exception of Mountaineer, which began operating in 1980, all of the plants are more than 50 years old. The oldest, Kyger Creek, came on in 1955.
Ghent first came online in 1973. The pollution control system will be added to the plant’s Unit 2.
While Ohio and North Carolina have pivoted away from coal generation, it remains the dominant form of electricity in Kentucky and West Virginia, at 67% and 86%, respectively.
Coal has broadly fallen out of favor in U.S. electricity generation. Natural gas surpassed coal in 2016 and currently is the dominant fuel for electricity nationwide.
Wind and solar surpassed coal in 2024. Coal generation saw an increase in 2025 as natural gas prices rose. The Trump administration has made an effort to boost coal use by rolling back regulations and ordering coal plants to stay on the grid.
Still, solar was the fastest growing form of electricity last year, and that’s forecast to continue through the end of Trump’s term.
