A colossal nuclear power plant could be the latest addition to the mountainous skyline of Lewis County.
The rural northeastern Kentucky county, located on the cusp of the Appalachian Mountains, was recently announced as the future home of what would be the largest nuclear power campus in the United States. Kentucky currently has no operational nuclear reactors.
The firm behind the plan, The Nuclear Company, is a Lexington-based energy startup co-founded in 2023 by former AppHarvest CEO Jonathan Webb, Kiran Bhatraju and Patrick Maloney.
The Nuclear Company plans to develop a sprawling nuclear power campus along the Ohio River that, if completed, could accommodate up to six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors capable of producing up to 6.6 gigawatts of electricity. The campus will be named "Prosperity One."
The project remains in its preliminary stages and has not yet received the federal regulatory approvals necessary to begin construction.
"For generations, communities along the Ohio River have formed America's industrial backbone," The Nuclear Company Chief Nuclear Officer Joe Klecha said in a company news release. "We are proud to partner with the community to apply our team's collective experience to deliver lasting jobs, a stronger tax base, and reliable power for Kentucky."
Klecha, a former licensed senior reactor operator, held construction and operational-readiness leadership roles in developing Vogtle Units 3 and 4, the most recent commercial nuclear reactors to come online in the United States. Located at the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Burke County, Georgia, the two reactors began commercial operations in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Vogtle the largest nuclear power plant in the country by generating capacity.
The release identifies Sam Howard, owner of a Vanceburg-based construction company, as the landowner of the prospective nuclear site and says The Nuclear Company has "site control" of the land. The land is located at Carrs Bottom, the Lewis County Herald reported.
In July, the Lewis County Fiscal Court approved a resolution kickstarting the county's participation in Kentucky's Nuclear Energy Ready certification process. The resolution did not authorize any specific construction project.
One month later, Lewis County hosted a public information session at the local high school, featuring speakers such as Kentucky Office of Energy Policy Executive Director Kenya Stump and Christine King of the U.S. Department of Energy's Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear, according to the Lewis County Herald.
On Oct. 12, the Lewis County Fiscal Court voted 4-1 to authorize submitting the county’s application for Kentucky’s Nuclear Energy Ready designation.
The planning process will include site analysis, geotechnical studies, environmental assessments, and electrical transmission interconnection planning to prepare it for development. In addition, The Nuclear Company also plans to work with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to obtain the proper federal licenses. If it receives the necessary approvals, the company plans to begin construction in 2028.
The Nuclear Company co-founder Webb is well known in Kentucky's entrepreneurial community. He rose to statewide prominence in the late 2010s with AppHarvest, a now-defunct indoor farming startup based in Morehead.
At the time, the company was a fundraising darling, attracting millions in investment from high-profile firms like Narya Capital, co-founded by now-Vice President JD Vance, who also served on the company's board of directors. The company went public through a special purpose acquisition company--SPAC--merger in 2021.
AppHarvest filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023 after grappling with accumulated debt, high operating costs and insufficient revenue. According to a 2023 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, AppHarvest lost $176.6 million in 2022. Eventually, AppHarvest's cash reserves dwindled, forcing it to file for bankruptcy.
