FRANKFORT — The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority has approved $1.1 million for three projects, including one at Northern Kentucky University.

        The projects were presented by Bill Brundage, Kentucky's commissioner of the new economy.

        The largest amount — $500,000 — was approved for new technology in a high-tech center at NKU.

        About $400,000 was earmarked for the creation of a Western Kentucky Energy/Environmental Consortium, a joint effort among the University of Louisville, the University of Kentucky, Murray State University and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.

        The consortium will research issues involving energy and environmental science in the region where the U.S. Enrichment Corp.'s Gaseous Diffusion Plant's coal fields and electric power plants are located.

        Mr. Brundage said the consortium could attract federal funding.

        “This could be a multibillion-dollar opportunity for us,” he said.

        The money from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority will be used primarily for payroll, including a $145,000 annual salary for the director.

        Also granted was $200,000 for the construction of an information-technology center at a business park in Somerset. The Valley Oak Business & Technology Park is a 150-acre regional site designed to attract new businesses to Pulaski County.

        The money will partially pay for construction of a 20,000-square-foot building for research and development or a data processing center.

        The center is expected to create 100 tech jobs within two years of completion.

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