The Nuclear Company announced Prosperity One on Oct. 21, a proposed nuclear campus in Lewis County, Kentucky, that could hold up to six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors with a combined output of about 6.6 gigawatts. The site sits along the Ohio River in eastern Kentucky. If fully built, the company says, it would be the largest nuclear power campus in the United States.
Site and timeline
The Nuclear Company says it has site control in the area. Sam Howard, a lifelong Lewis County resident, owns the site and has partnered with the company. The company plans to begin site development and to pursue the federal approvals it needs to start construction in 2028.
Initial work will include site characterization, geotechnical investigations, environmental assessments, transmission interconnection planning, and preparation for federal nuclear licensing. The company says it will engage the Nuclear Regulatory Commission through its established licensing processes.
Local approval track
Lewis County will be among the first Kentucky counties to ask for designation as a nuclear ready community under the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority. County leaders unanimously launched that effort in July 2026 and held public input meetings. Earlier this month they voted overwhelmingly to submit the county's filing to the Authority.
The company says project planning will cover transportation, housing, environmental stewardship, emergency preparedness, and water use.
The people involved
Joe Klecha, the company's Chief Nuclear Officer, is a former licensed senior reactor operator with 33 years of nuclear experience, including roles at Vogtle Units 3 and 4. The company's Services division has performed maintenance at more than 40 percent of America's current operating nuclear power facilities.
Howard said jobs are the draw. "I have nine grandchildren, and all of them live in Lewis County," he said, adding that the county's unemployment rate has been among the highest in the state.
