General Matter

State Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Paducah, speaks on the Senate floor during the 2025 legislative session.

Energy

Kentucky’s nuclear industry built momentum in 2025. The state senate’s biggest advocate says it’s not slowing down anytime soon.

Derek Operle

The nuclear industry in the Bluegrass State took big strides in 2025, and the lawmaker who's helped lead the charge for nuclear power in Kentucky says he expects that momentum carry into 2026.

From left: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Portsmouth Paducah Project Office Manager Joel Bradburne, U.S. Congressman James Comer, U.S. Senator Rand Paul, U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, General Matter CEO Scott Nolan, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Roger Jarrell, McCracken County Judge Executive Craig Clymer, and City of Paducah Mayor George Bray break ground as part of the General Matter lease announcement at the DOE Paducah Site on Tuesday, August 5, 2025.

Business & Economy

First U.S. commercial uranium enrichment plant signs lease in Paducah

Derek Operle

A lease to build the first U.S.-owned, privately developed uranium enrichment facility in the country was signed in western Kentucky on Tuesday against a backdrop of containers holding depleted tails of uranium hexafluoride – some covered in rust.

The former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in far western Kentucky, viewed from above.

Energy

Billionaire Peter Thiel backing first privately developed US uranium enrichment facility in Paducah

Derek Operle

A California-based company with ties to billionaire investor and Trump ally Peter Thiel announced plans Friday to build America’s first U.S.-owned, privately developed facility to enrich uranium in far western Kentucky.