A rendering of the proposed nuclear power plant units in Lewis County, Kentucky. (Courtesy the Nuclear Company)

A Lexington-based nuclear energy startup is proposing to build a massive nuclear power plant complex along the Ohio River in Lewis County, which, if fully realized, would be the largest nuclear power plant site in the country and the first nuclear power plant in Kentucky.

In a Wednesday press release, the Nuclear Company stated it is proposing to build six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors along Lewis County land next to the Ohio River owned by Sam Howard, the CEO of Trace Creek Construction in Vanceburg that is partnering on the proposal.

The six nuclear power plant units, the entire campus called “Prosperity One”, could generate a combined 6.6 gigawatts of electricity; for comparison, Kentucky’s largest electric utility’s entire power plant fleet can generate more than 7.2 gigawatts of electricity.

In a provided statement, the company’s chief nuclear officer Joe Klecha said that communities along the Ohio River have formed America’s industrial backbone.”

“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.”

The release states the project “answers President Trump’s call to accelerate American energy production and represents a major step toward restoring America’s ability to build nuclear power at scale.”

The company is beginning “site development activities”, including geotechnical and environmental assessments and electricity transmission planning and is seeking federal approvals to begin site construction by 2028, according to the release.

The startup launched in 2023 to speed up the deployment of nuclear power plants that have been stymied by years-long permitting delays and cost overruns. The last two nuclear reactors built in the United States — located at the Alvin W. Vogtle Generating Station in Georgia becoming operational in 2023 and 2024 — saw seven years of delays and $17 billion in overbudgeted costs, according to the Associated Press. Klecha held “construction and operational readiness leadership roles” for those two nuclear reactors, according to the Nuclear Company release.

The Nuclear Company’s CEO is Jonathan Webb, who was also the CEO of the former Eastern Kentucky greenhouse produce startup AppHarvest. In 2023, the nonprofit newsroom Grist reported that Webb was fired after the company faced mounting revenue losses, with the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The online newsroom also reported former AppHarvest employees said they worked in unsafe conditions and had little training for their greenhouse operations.

Joseph Billman, the mayor of the Lewis County seat of Vanceberg, told the Lantern he believed the project would “do nothing but help the economy and help our town grow.”

“This will not only bring jobs. It will bring people here,” Billman said. “It’s going to do nothing but grow the economy for Vanceburg and Lewis County.”

During an Oct. 10 special meeting, the Vanceburg city council passed a resolution as a final step for the county to submit an application for the county to be designated as a “nuclear ready community” through the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority. The GOP-controlled Kentucky legislature created the application process for the designation as part of encouraging local education and awareness of nuclear power and the energy industry. The application process included educational public forums on nuclear energy held in Lewis County earlier this summer.

Kevin Cornette, the executive director of the Buffalo Trace Area Development District, told the Lantern that community leaders had sought the “nuclear ready” designation because of interest shown by developers looking at land along the Ohio River, mentioning proposed gas-fired power and hyperscale data center developments taking place across the river in Ohio.

Cornette said his area development district was not aware of the Nuclear Company’s power plant proposal when community leaders began to seek the certification earlier this year. Billman said he was personally not aware of the Nuclear Company’s proposal before the Wednesday announcement.

Some local residents are expressing concerns about the pace of the proposal’s development, safety concerns surrounding nuclear power generation, and whether the public should have been notified of the power plant proposal sooner.

Carey Highfield, a Lewis County resident who lives on land miles away from the proposed site, said he was concerned about the proposed project being near local schools.

The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires emergency planning zones to have safety planning around a nuclear power plant “if extremely unlikely events unfold.” Accidents at nuclear power plants are generally very rare, according to the World Nuclear Association, a nonprofit representing the global nuclear energy industry. Earlier this month, federal authorities renewed the certification for the design of the power plant units being proposed in Lewis County, the same units used at the new reactors in Georgia.

Vanceberg city council member Richard Walje was the only vote against the resolution for the “nuclear ready” designation application. Walje told the Lantern he believes the public hasn’t had adequate time to understand and debate the potential of nuclear energy in the community.

“I think most of the county doesn’t realize it’s happening at all,” Walje said about the power plant proposal. “It needs to be slowed drastically, in my view, and the counterargument needs to be heard.”

Kentucky Lantern

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