OCED funds awarded to advance Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage planning

Lewis Ridge
(photo courtesy Rye Development)

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations recently announced an award under its Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land.

This award of more than $12 million went to the Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project in Bell County, Ky. The project is led by Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage LLC, an affiliate of Rye Development. The $12 million (of the total project federal cost share of up to $81 million) in funding was given to begin Phase 1 activities.

The project involves converting former coal mine land into a 287 MW pumped storage hydroelectric facility. This closed-loop facility would consist of two artificial reservoirs at different elevations. The project can store up to eight hours of electricity when demand is low and provide a generating capacity of up to 287 MW during times of peak electricity demand. The Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project would be one of the first pumped storage hydropower facilities constructed in the U.S. in more than 30 years and the first to be built on former mine land, DOE said.

During Phase 1 of the project, Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage LLC will begin work on budgeting, scheduling, permitting, land rights and licensing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

In March 2024, Hydro Review reported that the Lewis Ridge project was one of the projects included in a DOE announcement of up to $475 million for five projects to accelerate clean energy deployment on current and former mine land. Developing clean energy projects on mine land provides an attractive economic alternative to using undisturbed natural and agricultural land. Mine land is often located near critical infrastructure that makes it suitable for clean energy development, including electric substations, transmission lines and access to roads or railroad lines.

The Lewis Ridge project plans to interconnect with local transmission, improving grid reliability. And as part of its community benefits commitments, this project anticipates creating about 1,500 construction jobs and 30 operations jobs, adding millions of dollars in tax revenue to the community over the project’s projected 100-year lifetime. In addition, Lewis Ridge plans to support workforce development opportunities through partnerships with unions and the Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College and by providing a Registered Apprenticeship Program and other subsidized workforce training activities.

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