Farmers RECC is one of 16 cooperatives that owns and governs the company that generates and transmits sustainable, affordable and reliable power to us. Our co-op receives energy from East Kentucky Power Cooperative and then distributes it to you and 18,000 members in our eight Kentucky counties.
EKPC generates electricity from two coal-fueled plants: Spurlock Station located in Maysville and Cooper Station near Somerset.
EKPC also generates power using nine combustion turbines (CTs) at Smith Station in the Trapp community of Clark County, along with three CTs at Bluegrass Station near LaGrange. The CTs operate on natural gas or, if needed, on fuel oil.
Our cooperative system has long been a state leader in renewables.
In 2017, we built Cooperative Solar Farm One at EKPC headquarters in Winchester. It produces enough electricity to meet the power needs of 1,000 homes. With 32,000 solar panels, it is one of Kentucky’s largest solar projects. Learn more at www.cooperativesolar.com.
In 2003, our system became the first in Kentucky to generate its own renewable power when we began operating plants fueled by gas from landfills. Today, EKPC has six landfill gas plants in Kentucky, including one in Glasgow. Learn more at www.envirowattsky.com.
Hydro power is also a major source of electricity. EKPC has a long-term contract for 170 megawatts of hydropower from the Cumberland system of dams, which include Laurel and Wolf Creek Dams. EKPC purchases the hydropower from the federal Southeastern Power Administration (SEPA).
To better meet our mission, in 2013 our cooperative system integrated into PJM Interconnection, the world’s largest centrally dispatched grid. This gives us — and you —access to competitively priced, reliable power. That’s a tremendous benefit especially in times when power supplies are tight like the polar vortex several winters ago.
The year 2021 marks the 80th anniversary of EKPC. It’s an important milestone in the long history of rural Kentuckians cooperating to create their own power generating co-op. It’s a story of strength, endurance and sustainability. Here’s to the bright future to come!