$60 million in federal money will fund clean energy projects in rural Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The federal government will invest more than $60 million to fund clean energy projects in rural Kentucky.

The Biden-Harris Administration announced Thursday a total of $140 million for clean energy projects split between Kentucky and Nevada, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Powering Affordable Clean Energy program.

According to a news release Thursday from the USDA, the Kentucky projects include:

$6.6 million for Bluestem Energy Solutions TEC1 LLC to build a solar power facility in Allen County that will produce 5 megawatts of renewable energy, enough to power more than 900 homes each year.
$19.3 million for Lock 9 Hydro Partners LLC to build a run-of-river hydroelectric plant on the Kentucky River generating 3 megawatts of renewable energy for Jessamine County. The project is expected to power 1,600 homes each year.
$18.9 million for Lock 10 Hydro Partners LLC to build a run-of-river hydroelectric plant on the Kentucky River generating 3 megawatts of renewable energy for Madison County. The project is expected to provide enough electricity to power 1,600 homes each year.
$17.7 million for Lock 13 Hydro Partners LLC to build a run-of-river hydroelectric plant on the Kentucky River generating 3 megawatts of renewable energy for Lee County. The project is expected to power 1,600 homes each year.

The USDA said these projects will not only create jobs but lower power bills for rural households.

"I certainly know that feeling, that sometimes it feels like people aren't paying attention to rural America in spite of all of the hard work that they do," USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small said Thursday. "And that's why these investments are so important."

When complete, the new facilities will power nearly 6,000 homes in the Commonwealth.