Candidates to lead Kentucky's largest city laid out their policy positions on climate and environmental issues in a March 25 mayoral forum, ranging from solar and nuclear power to data centers and public transit — with one notable absence.
Mayoral candidates Matthew Bailey, Lisa Holliday Harris, Jody Hurt and Shameka Parrish-Wright participated in the forum, hosted by the Renewable Energy Alliance of Louisville, and answered questions from environmental advocates and attendees.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, who is running for re-election and attended the forum in 2022, did not participate this year. Campaign manager Kevin Trager said the mayor was attending a previously scheduled event, and has committed to two debates before the primary in May.
Candidates who spoke at the forum spanned the political spectrum, but generally aligned in support of the city's clean energy transition. Several also spoke in sharp opposition to the hyperscale data center project in development near Lake Dreamland.
Louisville's climate goals, established by a Metro Council-approved resolution, set three looming benchmarks: 100% clean electricity in city operations by 2030, 100% clean energy in city operations by 2035 (including vehicles, heating and cooling), and 100% clean energy community-wide by 2040.
The winner of this year's mayoral election will serve a term ending in 2030, and will need to bring Louisville to a sprint to meet the first self-imposed benchmark. While the city has made early steps on energy efficiency and sustainability programs, Louisville has struggled to pry itself from fossil fuels in a meaningful way, in part because of LG&E's coal- and gas-dominated generating fleet.
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