Three hydroelectric projects on the Kentucky River have been awarded $55.9 million in funding from the federal government.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the awards Thursday.
The money would go toward construction of hydropower plants in unused lock chambers on the river.
The three projects together are projected to produce enough electricity annually to power 4,800 homes in Madison, Jessamine and Lee counties, according to the federal agency.
“These USDA investments will lower costs for Americans and create good-paying jobs in rural communities for years to come,” Xochitl Torres Small, deputy secretary of the agency, said in announcing the funding.
David Brown Kinloch, an engineer from Louisville, is developing the hydropower plants at Locks 9, 10 and 13.
Lock 14 is in Lee County, where the three forks that form the Kentucky River come together. Lock 10 is between Madison and Clark counties and Lock 9 is between Jessamine and Madison counties.
Brown Kinloch has worked with Berea College on developing hydropower plants in Lee and Estill counties designed to allow the College to offset all its carbon emissions .