RAVENNA, Ky. — Kentucky is looking to hold the title of the number one hydro-building state in the country and with low-cost ways to do it.

On the banks of the Kentucky River in Estill County, Judge/Executive Donnie Watson says three generations of his family have lived in the area.

It’s where he says the Kentucky River was a multi-use source for their lives. “Things were produced here. Iron ore, coal was hauled down. It was brought down the river, shipped down the river from Beattyville by barge,” he explained.

In the early 20th century, Watson says his grandfather was one of the first men crossing the river multiple times a year.

Today, the area is still being utilized. A grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is helping to bring cost-efficient and energy saving investments to rural parts of Kentucky. 

It’s why a new large hydro turbine is a part of Lock and Dam 12’s hydroelectric plant developed by Berea College.

“[We want to] build on the success of an experiment like this with a series of four additional hydroelectric stations that have received USDA PACE, which stand for Powering Affordable Clean Energy,” said Berea College President Cheryl Nixon.

According to the USDA, the PACE program is funded by President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

Nearly 4,500 homes will be powered by the energy generating turbine. Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., says it brings resources, more people to the area and more job opportunities. 

“Electricity will be used by the East Kentucky Power Cooperative, which serves 89 counties. What Tony and I could tell you is so many of these big economic development projects we’re working on, we’re working on a bunch of them. So you’ve got to provide us this much in renewable energy by this date. This is going to help us land more projects and more jobs in the coming years,” Beshear said.  

Watson says he’s hoping this will revitalize and keep growing the area he’s cherished. “Need to try to leave our environment a little bit better than how we found it.” Watson said.