•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities (KU), subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), are collaborating with X-energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: XE) to explore deploying X-energy’s Xe-100 small modular reactor (SMR) in Kentucky. The companies say they have begun early project feasibility activities to assess opportunities for SMR deployments aimed at supporting long-term grid reliability across the Commonwealth, including for large load customers such as data centers.
The collaboration comes amid growing interest in nuclear energy in Kentucky as a baseload option for power generation. In 2024, the Commonwealth formed the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority, described as a non-regulatory agency intended to support the nuclear energy ecosystem. In 2025, the Kentucky Public Service Commission opened a case to investigate nuclear energy, including how Kentucky would regulate nuclear development.
In April, Governor Andy Beshear signed the Nuclear Reactor Site Readiness Pilot Program into law. The legislation includes a $75-million grant initiative to support nuclear site feasibility studies, applications for early site and construction permitting, and licensing. The program will select three projects to receive up to $25 million each. It also allows a regulated utility to apply to the Public Service Commission for recovery of costs incurred in applying for permitting and licensing for sites in the Commonwealth that are not covered in existing rates.
John R. Crockett III, President for LG&E and KU, said the companies are working with X-energy to explore bringing nuclear energy to Kentucky to support a pipeline of new projects in their service territories, particularly where large load customers can help support the cost structure. He added that LG&E and KU take an “all-of-the-above” approach to their generation fleet and said the collaboration will explore whether nuclear energy fits into their long-term plans.
J. Clay Sell, Chief Executive Officer of X-energy, said Kentucky’s energy leadership and workforce provide a foundation for evaluating advanced nuclear deployment. He said the collaboration will assess how the Xe-100 can support growing electricity demand, strengthen grid reliability, and create economic opportunity.
X-energy describes small modular reactors as advanced nuclear energy systems designed to generate clean, safe, and reliable energy with a smaller, more flexible design than traditional nuclear plants. The company says SMRs can be factory-built and assembled on-site, and are designed with intrinsic safety characteristics that allow greater siting flexibility compared with large light-water reactors.
According to X-energy, the Xe-100 is an 80 MWe high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that can be deployed in either four- or twelve-unit plants depending on grid requirements. A four-unit plant delivers 320 MWe for regional utilities and large load customers, while a twelve-unit plant provides gigawatt-scale power for larger metropolitan areas and hyperscale infrastructure. X-energy says each reactor can come online independently upon completion, enabling end users to phase in capacity one unit at a time to align generation with demand growth.
X-energy says it is developing more than 11 GW of new nuclear capacity across projects in the United States and the United Kingdom, including partnerships with Dow Chemical, Amazon, and Centrica.
LG&E and KU are regulated utilities serving nearly 1.4 million customers. LG&E serves 336,000 natural gas and 443,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties. KU serves 581,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and 28,000 in five counties in Virginia.
For more information, LG&E and KU provided a 24/7 media hotline at (502) 627-4999. X-energy contacts listed include Robert McEntyre, Corporate Communications, at (240) 673-6565, and Patricia Gil, Investor Relations, at (301) 558-3040.
Premium gym chains are entering a “golden era” that is ending or already in decline, as rising operating costs collide with shifting consumer preferences toward more flexible, community-based ways to exercise. Long-term memberships are shrinking, margins are pressured by higher rents and facility expenses, and competition from smaller, more personalized…
