EPA’s new restrictions may hamper Kentucky’s aluminium industry

EPA’s proposed rules threaten to dampen the aluminum industry in Kentucky which has just started coming out of trouble.

Kentucky has attracted the aluminum industry because of its abundant coal and the lowest electricity bills in the country contributing 40 percent of America’s total aluminum production. However, with the EPA targeting Kentucky’s new and existing plants, it will threaten the energy-intensive aluminum industry as well.

InsiderLouisville's David Serchuk reported in an article called "Aluminum: Kentucky's fast-growing stealth mega-industry" that aluminium will soon become a preferred metal for automobile parts. He also reported that the Kentucky Center for Economic Development has projected that aluminium sheet production for vehicle body will increase from 200 million pounds in 2012 t0 4 billion pounds by 2025.

The report also said that the aluminium industry had contributed $2 million to Kentucky’s GDP in 2013, employed 20,000 and provided average wage of $86,000.

However, if the EPA’s regulations are finally imposed, the electricity prices are expected to got up considerably higher, around 17 percent becoming a possible deterrent for the aluminum industry and result in possible closures.