Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project

planned

Kentucky’s largest power company, Louisville Gas and Electric Co. and Kentucky Utilities, are partnering with Rye Development on the Lewis Ridge pumped storage project in Bell County, Kentucky. The project involves moving water between two reservoirs at different elevations to store electricity, generating enough power to supply nearly 70,000 homes annually. The facility is expected to cost about $1.3 billion and support approximately 2,300 jobs during a four-year construction period. The project has received a preliminary permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2022, with hopes to secure a final license in 2027. It aims to generate about $1.6 million in new local tax revenue and is positioned as Kentucky’s first pumped storage hydro system, leveraging the region's mountainous topography and former coal mine sites.