The Nuclear Company wants to build the largest nuclear plant in the United States on a stretch of Ohio River bottomland in eastern Kentucky. The developer announced Prosperity One on Oct. 21, a proposed 6.6 GW nuclear campus in Lewis County that could hold up to six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors. It’s aiming to start construction in 2028.
Fully built, the campus would pass Georgia’s Plant Vogtle, at roughly 4.5 GW, as the biggest U.S. nuclear site. It would also be Kentucky’s first commercial nuclear project. Nothing has been filed yet, though: no NRC application and no PJM interconnection request, according to POWER magazine’s review of the project materials.
What the Prosperity One nuclear campus would include
The site is Carrs Bottom, held under an option agreement with Lewis County landowner Sam Howard, whose company Trace Creek LLC has a teaming partnership with the developer. TNC says it’s still evaluating additional land a full six-unit campus would need. The site sits near regional high-voltage transmission, an existing rail line and Kentucky Route 8.
Phase 1 is two AP1000s, about 2.2 GW. Each unit after that needs its own development decision. The Ohio River is the likely cooling source, but no cooling system has been picked. First up is site characterization and geotechnical work, along with environmental studies and interconnection planning. The license application has to wait on about two years of on-site meteorological measurements.
“I have nine grandchildren, and all of them live in Lewis County. I want them to have the opportunity to stay,” Howard said in the announcement. Joe Klecha, TNC’s chief nuclear officer, held construction and operational readiness roles at Vogtle Units 3 and 4.
The money behind the nuclear megaproject is still missing
TNC hasn’t disclosed a cost estimate or a financing plan. It hasn’t named anyone who’d buy the power, either. Its own project site says the campus won’t go ahead at this scale, or at all, if studies show it can’t meet federal requirements or be financed responsibly. That’s an honest caveat, and a big one.
The federal and state help on offer is real but bounded. POWER reports DOE made a $17.5 billion conditional commitment in June for long-lead equipment on 10 AP1000s, with each two-reactor project expected to bring about $1 billion of upfront equity. Kentucky’s SB 57 offers grants covering up to a third of NRC licensing costs, capped at $25 million, but only for projects with a utility partner in a county designated nuclear-ready. Lewis County voted this month to file for that designation. It hasn’t been granted.
Indiana got two more nuclear proposals the same week
Prosperity One was the third big Ohio Valley nuclear plan in three days. On Oct. 19, American Electric Power, Amazon and X-energy said they’re exploring a 960 MW plant of twelve 80 MW Xe-100 reactors at the former Breed coal plant site in Sullivan County, Ind., with Amazon paying the full cost through a long-term power contract if it’s built. On Oct. 20, AtkinsRéalis, Hoosier Energy and the state of Indiana signed an MOU to study up to eight Candu units, about 6 GW, World Nuclear News reported.
Add them up and that’s roughly 13.5 GW proposed in one week. None of the three has a construction contract. None has reached a final investment decision. The reactor design, at least, is settled: the NRC moved this month to renew the AP1000 design certification for 40 years. For Prosperity One, 2028 leaves about two years to gather weather data, file with the NRC and find someone willing to pay for the first pair.