17 Kentucky Buildings Rated ENERGY STAR; Governor Plants for Biofuels

Governor plants the first ceremonial plug of miscanthus, a commercial crop grown for biofuels.

June 2009

It has been a busy springtime in Kentucky, with the unveiling of new ratings for energy efficient buildings and planting of a new energy crop with lots of potential.

A Cluster of ENERGY STAR Rated Buildings

In April, Kentucky state and local leaders recognized 17 buildings that earned the ENERGY STAR® rating from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy. Previously, only 45 Kentucky  buildings had earned the ENERGY STAR rating.

The newly rated buildings included schools, offices, retail stores, and a hotel, some of which were built as early as the 1930s.  The buildings range in size from 6,000 square feet to nearly 200,000 square feet.

Building owners and occupants used a number of strategies to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy costs, including energy tracking, process changes, automatic thermostat setbacks, light-colored roofing, heating and cooling system component improvements, insulated concrete forms, geothermal heating and cooling systems, daylight harvesting, solar photovoltaics, increased insulation, and energy efficient lighting.

A New Crop for Biofuels

In May, Governor Steve Beshear planted the inaugural plug for Kentucky's first commercial energy crop for biofuels. The planting took place at a 300-acre field belonging to Midwestern Biofuels near South Shore, which is located in the northeast corner of the state about 100 miles south of Columbus, Ohio.

Beshear planted a perennial grass called Miscanthus, which is also known as Chinese Silver Grass, Elephant Grass, or Maiden Grass. In the United States, this type of grass is used mostly for ornamentation. It grows well in poor soil, requires virtually no fertilizer, and returns for approximately 20 years after a single planting. And it can be planted with a tobacco transplanter, which is a type of agricultural machine that is commonly used in the region.

Miscanthus can grow to heights of more than 11.5 feet in one growing season. Its dry weight annual yield can reach as much as 10 tons per acre, which represents a greater per-acre yield for biofuels than is possible from corn or switchgrass.

Midwestern Biofuels will be seeking farmers within a 50-mile radius of South Shore to grow Miscanthus. The company will pay farmers an established rate per acre and buy their entire yield. Midwestern Biofuels plans to mix the Miscanthus with coal for combusting in boilers to produce heat or steam for electricity production in steam turbines.