Pumped Storage Hydro

Rye Development to build Lewis Ridge pumped storage project in Kentucky

U.S. hydropower developer Rye Development has started work to build the Lewis Ridge Closed Loop Pumped Hydropower Storage project in Bell County, Kentucky.

Closed loop pumped-storage facilities release water from an upper reservoir, which flows down through a penstock to turn hydroelectric turbines to generate electricity. The water is collected in a lower reservoir and then returned through the penstock to the upper reservoir to repeat the process.

Rye filed for a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) permit for the Lewis Ridge project and has commenced the development process, according to a release. If fully permitted, the project would receive from FERC a 50-year license to operate. When constructed, the Lewis Ridge project would have the capacity to generate more than 200 MW for eight hours.

The Lewis Ridge pumped storage project site is located adjacent to the Cumberland River on a former coal strip mine. As coal is phased out of the electric power grid across the U.S., projects like Lewis Ridge can create new jobs and economic activity in energy communities, Rye said. The project will invest nearly $1 billion into the county and bring close to 2,000 construction jobs over a three- to five-year period. Several dozen direct and indirect jobs permanent jobs also are expected to be created.

The loss of coal generation also means the country will need thousands of megawatts of new generating resources and electricity storage to integrate the intermittent renewable energy from wind and solar that is being added to the grid, Rye said. The existing project site features beneficial topography and proximity to transmission infrastructure.

“Rye is proud to bring these types of developments to coal communities in the U.S. — delivering on the promise of jobs in the energy transition,” said Paul Jacob, Rye CEO.

Pumped storage facilities represent 95% of all utility-scale storage in the U.S., according to the Department of Energy. It is a proven, available technology that can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on fossil fuels.

Rye Development is a U.S. hydropower developer with a pipeline of over 25 projects in 10 states. Rye develops both new hydropower on existing dams and new closed loop pumped storage hydro.