LEXINGTON, Ky. - Student environmentalists claim coal-burning power plants at the University of Kentucky (UK) are risky for the research university's legacy and pose serious health hazards for students and the nearby community. They're asking the campus chiefs to shut them down.



Lauren McGrath with the Sierra Club in Kentucky is helping the students in their UK "Beyond Coal" campaign. It includes a midweek rally and a presentation to the Board of Trustees finance committee, she explains.



"Their number-one ask is for the university to conduct a feasibility study of what is possible in terms of shuttering one of the coal plants by 2014 and replacing it with energy-efficiency and geothermal, potentially looking at solar and other forms of renewable energy."



According to McGrath, the university's two plants - one built in the 1950s and the other in the 1970s - are grandfathered in, and therefore exempt from clean air rules. But, she adds, new federal mercury standards may signal that it is time for UK to change its energy strategy.



"We're looking toward this December to expect the mercury rule that would impact grandfathered plants, like UK's plants – and it would be very, very costly investments for them to upgrade their plants to meet new standards."



McGrath points to the success of Ball State University in Indiana as an example of what is working.



"The investment up-front was significant, but they're saving a couple million dollars every single year. So, over time it pays itself back, and you get to a point where you actually have no further costs. In the case of UK, they're paying tens of millions a year just in fuel prices."



McGrath acknowledges that UK's connections with the coal industry may make changing to renewable energy sources a tougher sell. The new Wildcat Coal Lodge for basketball players, for example, is being supported by coal executives.



