Two years ago, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded an $81 million grant to the Lewis Ridge pumped storage project in Bell County.
Now, Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities are looking to partner with Rye Development to build the 266 megawatt facility on a reclaimed coal mine site.
Paul Jacob, CEO of Rye Development, described Lewis Ridge as a big water battery.
“So you're using gravity to to flow water downhill to generate power, and then you're using energy from the grid to push that uphill,” he said. “So it's got about the same efficiency as a battery, but it lasts forever.”
Bell County once produced coal and generated electricity. Mining has declined sharply, and the power plant has closed. Jacob said the project will bring jobs and tax revenue to the area.
Jacob said many sites throughout the region are suitable.
“You think of all the other impacted mine lands through Central Appalachia. This is something that can be repeated,” he said. “We're doing this as a starting point, but we'd like to do more of these projects. And the potential is really tremendous.”
The project is projected to cost $1.3 billion and begin construction next year. It would be ready to operate by 2031.
The Lewis Ridge project was carried over from the Biden administration, which awarded it the grant in 2024 through the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.
About a year ago, the Trump administration canceled 24 project awards totaling $3.7 billion.
LG&E and KU is a financial supporter of WEKU.
