PEIK offers online seminars to academic and industry professionals at no cost. These seminars qualify for Professional Development Hours (PDH). Join our mailing list to be notified of these opportunities as they become available. Email Jason Souders, PEIK Coordinator to sign up.
April 7, 2021 - 2:00 PM EST
Speaker: Aron Patrick, Manager, Technology Research and Analysis, LG&E and KU
Title: Kentucky’s Clean Energy Successes, Opportunities, and Challenges
Seminar: Organized jointly with regional IEEE organizations
Abstract: Kentucky is making remarkable progress in clean energy. The air in Kentucky is cleaner today than it has been since emissions monitoring began, and Kentucky has reduced emissions at a faster rate than the nation as a whole. By 2020, Kentucky had reduced carbon dioxide emissions below the Obama-era Clean Power Plan targets for the year 2030—a full decade ahead of the proposed schedule. Emissions reductions will only continue and accelerate into the future. LG&E and KU are committed, together with our parent company PPL, to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 70% by 2040 and by 80% by 2050. LG&E and KU are also committed to research and development in new clean energy technologies to help us move further, faster, and achieve reductions beyond 80%. Renewable energy is not new to LG&E and KU—we have operated two hydroelectric facilities, Ohio Falls and Dix Dam, since the 1920s. In 2016, we built Kentucky’s largest solar farm and largest lithium-ion battery. We continue to expand our solar offerings, and today, every customer that wants solar power can sign up for it. In partnership with the University of Kentucky, we have a decade of research in carbon capture technology and are currently researching the technical challenges and opportunities of increasing intermittent renewable resources. We are also researching ways to lower solar costs and improve solar integration with the natural environment by incorporating native plants, pollinator habitats, and using sheep for vegetation management at our solar farms, as discussed in the seminar presentation.
Bio: Aron Patrick is the manager of Technology Research and Analysis for LG&E and KU. Aron is responsible for managing research on technologies that improve how LG&E and KU provide safe, reliable, sustainable energy at a reasonable cost while analyzing technologies that change the way customers use energy. Before joining LG&E and KU, Aron held leadership roles at the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, including assistant director and program manager in carbon management and renewable energy. In those roles, Aron managed data, modeling, and research in energy policy and future generation technologies. Prior to that, Aron was an intelligence analyst for the federal government, using statistical analysis and modeling to address national security problems. Aron is a Lexington native and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Kentucky.
Time: Apr 7, 2021 02:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Registration is required for this seminar.
Registration: https://uky.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUkfumqpzotH90t5Di4CqSHzwC2bFdmj7--
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing a password and information about joining the meeting.
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