The Nuclear Company has put a number on its Kentucky ambition: up to six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors producing roughly 6.6 gigawatts. The project, called Prosperity One, would sit along the Ohio River in Lewis County, 92 miles northeast of Lexington. If fully built, the company says, it would be the largest nuclear power campus in the United States and one of the largest in the world.
The number is the story, and so is the stage. This is a proposal. The company has site control but has not yet started the engineering, environmental and licensing work that a build of this size requires.
What the company says it will do
The Nuclear Company plans to begin site development and to pursue the federal approvals needed to start construction in 2028. As part of that process, it says it will engage the Nuclear Regulatory Commission through the agency's established licensing processes.
The first round of work is spelled out in the announcement: detailed site characterization, geotechnical investigations, environmental assessments, transmission interconnection planning, and preparation for federal nuclear licensing. Planning will also address transportation, housing, environmental stewardship, emergency preparedness and water use.
The company describes the project as a response to President Trump's call to speed up American energy production.
Who is behind it locally
Sam Howard, a lifelong Lewis County resident, owns the site and has partnered with the company. He said his nine grandchildren all live in the county and that he wants them to have a reason to stay. He also said the county's unemployment rate has been among the highest in Kentucky for years.
Lewis County is set to 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, held public input meetings, and earlier this month voted overwhelmingly to send the county's filing to the Authority.
The team's nuclear record
Joe Klecha, the company's Chief Nuclear Officer, is a former licensed senior reactor operator with 33 years in nuclear work, from U.S. Navy submarines to operations leadership at some of the country's largest nuclear fleets. At Vogtle Units 3 and 4 he held construction and operational readiness leadership roles. The company's Services division has performed maintenance at more than 40 percent of operating U.S. nuclear power facilities.
Klecha said the company is proud to partner with the community to deliver "lasting jobs, a stronger tax base, and reliable power for Kentucky."
Our read
At 6.6 GW, Prosperity One is sized as a regional power hub, not a single plant. What it has today is a site, a landowner, a county moving through the state's nuclear-ready process, and a team with Vogtle construction experience. What it does not yet have is federal approval, and the 2028 date is a target for starting construction, not for producing power.
