The Nuclear Company has announced Prosperity One, a proposed nuclear campus in Lewis County, in eastern Kentucky, that could host up to six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors with roughly 6.6 gigawatts of electrical capacity. The site sits along the Ohio River, about 92 miles northeast of Lexington.
If built in full, it would be Kentucky’s first commercial nuclear project and the largest nuclear generation site in the United States. A comparison with other American power plants helps put the scale in perspective: at 6.6 GW, it would be the country’s second-largest power plant by capacity, behind only the Grand Coulee Dam. The site covers about 4,200 acres, already prepared through years of industrial investment.
The company controls the land and will work with local landowners and community representatives in Lewis County. Initial activities include site characterization, geotechnical surveys, environmental assessments and planning for the connection to the transmission grid. Preparation of the federal license application will follow.
The project’s path runs through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the US nuclear safety regulator. The Nuclear Company plans to follow existing licensing procedures, with the goal of obtaining the necessary approvals to begin construction in 2028. The choice of the AP1000, a pressurized water reactor already operating in the United States, reduces design uncertainty and relies on proven technology.
The project comes as demand grows for stable, low-carbon electricity from industry and data centers. In its announcement, the company frames the project as a response to President Donald Trump’s call to increase domestic energy production and as a step toward rebuilding America’s capacity to construct large power plants. It also promises industrial investment and skilled jobs in a region with a long history of energy production.
Prosperity One is still a proposal. The license, the full financing plan and agreements with electricity customers are all still missing. If the schedule holds, however, Kentucky could become within a few years one of the hubs of America’s new large-scale nuclear build-out, with six units built in series on the same site.
