The Tennessee Valley Authority is celebrating Kentucky Dam this year, as one of the largest clean-energy providers in the state has served the community for 80 years.
Kentucky Dam opened for service in the summer of 1944—it is 206 feet high and 8,422 feet long, with five operating units that can produce approximately 225 megawatts, which is enough to power roughly 220,000 homes.
Plant Manager KT Duffy bragged on the original technology of the dam, saying the hydropower combines two of TVA’s greatest priorities—clean and reliable energy.
He says Kentucky Dam remains highly capable of producing power, and approximately nine percent of TVA’s power generation comes from hydropower.
Duffy highlighted the excellence of the staff that keep Kentucky Dam operating, saying they are a vital resource for this region and the TVA.
Kentucky Dam also helps reduce flood damage on six million acres of the lower Ohio and Mississippi rivers and reduces the frequency of flooding on another 4 million acres.