First slice of federal funding released for 2.3 GWh pumped hydro site in Kentucky

The $12 million first installment of an $81 million federal grant for the first pumped hydro storage plant on a former coal mine in the United States, has been disbursed.

The US Department of Energy’s (DoE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations distributed the cash to the developer of the 287 MW/2,296 MWh Lewis Ridge pumped hydro storage project, in Bell County, Kentucky.

The project is being developed by the Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage LLC unit of Rye Development Acquisition, LLC, a partnership between French utility EDF Group and San Francisco-based investor Climate Adaptive Infrastructure.

Lewis Ridge describes the project, which centers on two man-made reservoirs, as a more than $1 billion investment in southeastern Kentucky which will create more than 1,500 jobs and have a project life of at least a century.

The developer has committed to working with nonpartisan body Shaping Our Appalachian Region to hire and train a local workforce.

A press release published on the Businesswire news service, to announce the release of the initial federal funds, described the project as the first pumped hydro site in the United States for more than 30 years. The release added, pumped hydro comprises 96% of utility scale energy storage capacity in the United States and said Lewis Ridge would provide enough energy to power 67,000 homes.

The press release indicated the 1,500 jobs mentioned would be in construction.

Paul Jacob, CEO of Rye Development Acquisition, said, “We are pleased to partner with the Department of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and the local community to repurpose former coal mine land into a critical new energy storage facility, utilizing long-proven technology. We have identified additional coal mine sites in the US that are suitable for pumped storage hydropower, where insights gained from the Lewis Ridge facility can support future projects.”

Rye Development is one of five organizations that have received DoE funding for projects on current and former mine land.