How many hydro power plants are in Kentucky?

Kentucky has 11 operating utility-scale hydro power plants with 1.1 GW of capacity, according to the EIA's monthly survey of power plants.

What is the largest hydro power plant in Kentucky?

Wolf Creek in Russell County, Kentucky is the largest, at 270 MW. It came online in 1952.

How many hydro power plants were built in Kentucky in 2025?

0 hydro power plants came online in Kentucky in 2025, with 0 MW of capacity.

Who is developing hydro power plants in Kentucky?

Interconnection queues list each project under a project company, not the developer behind it. Cleanview researches the developer of every project and has them on paid plans.

Hydro power plants in Kentucky

Kentucky has 11 operating hydro power plants with 1.1 GW of capacity.

Operating11

Updated monthly. Last updated November 2026.

Under 50 MW50–249 MW250 MW and up

Updated monthly. Last updated November 2026.

Kentucky had 9 hydro power plants online in 2016 and 11 in 2026

2016’162017’172018’182019’192020’202021’212022’222023’232024’242025’252026’26

Hydro power plants online at the end of each year. Source: EIA-860M, compiled by Cleanview.

The 10 largest hydro power plants in Kentucky

Operating, by capacity

#	Hydro power plant	County	Year online	Capacity
1	Wolf Creek	Russell County	1952	270 MW
2	Kentucky Dam	Marshall County	1948	219 MW
3	Barkley	Lyon County	1966	130 MW
4	Ohio Falls	Jefferson County	1928	110 MW
5	Meldahl Hydroelectric Project	Bracken County	2016	105 MW
6	Cannelton Hydroelectric Plant	Hancock County	2016	88 MW
7	Smithland Hydroelectric Plant	Livingston County	2017	76 MW
8	Laurel Dam	Laurel County	1977	70 MW
9	Dix Dam	Mercer County	1925	28 MW
10	Matilda Hamilton Fee Hydroelectric Stati	Estill County	2021	3 MW

Hydro power plants that came online most recently in Kentucky

Newest first

#	Hydro power plant	County	Year online	Capacity
1	Matilda Hamilton Fee Hydroelectric Stati	Estill County	2021	3 MW
2	Smithland Hydroelectric Plant	Livingston County	2017	76 MW
3	Cannelton Hydroelectric Plant	Hancock County	2016	88 MW
4	Meldahl Hydroelectric Project	Bracken County	2016	105 MW
5	Mother Ann Lee	Mercer County	2008	2 MW
6	Laurel Dam	Laurel County	1977	70 MW
7	Barkley	Lyon County	1966	130 MW
8	Wolf Creek	Russell County	1952	270 MW
9	Kentucky Dam	Marshall County	1948	219 MW
10	Ohio Falls	Jefferson County	1928	110 MW

The developer behind each project is on paid plans. See plans

How Cleanview tracks hydro power plants

Operating hydro power plants come from the EIA's monthly survey of power plants. Planned projects come from the grid operators' interconnection queues. We research who is developing each one, since a queue lists a project company, not its owner.

Questions about hydro power plants in Kentucky

How many hydro power plants are in Kentucky?: Kentucky has 11 operating utility-scale hydro power plants with 1.1 GW of capacity, according to the EIA's monthly survey of power plants.
What is the largest hydro power plant in Kentucky?: Wolf Creek in Russell County, Kentucky is the largest, at 270 MW. It came online in 1952.
How many hydro power plants were built in Kentucky in 2025?: 0 hydro power plants came online in Kentucky in 2025, with 0 MW of capacity.
Who is developing hydro power plants in Kentucky?: Interconnection queues list each project under a project company, not the developer behind it. Cleanview researches the developer of every project and has them on paid plans.