Big Sandy — 281 MW gas plant, Lawrence County, KY

Big Sandy — 281 MW gas plant, Lawrence County, KY · Ask the Grid

Generation and physical site

EIA plant 1353 · Inventory for Aug 2026.

Reported operating nameplate by technology

Natural gas: 280.5 MW

Operating generators only. Battery power is in MW; stored energy is in MWh. These ratings do not establish a shared export limit.

Generator records (2)

EIA generator status and nameplate capacity for Big Sandy
Generator	Technology	Status	Power (MW)	Energy (MWh)
1	Natural Gas Steam Turbine	Operating	280.5	Unknown
2	Conventional Steam Coal	Retired	816.3	Unknown

Physical map location · OpenStreetMap: 38.17300, -82.61578
Filed location · EIA: 38.17070, -82.61760

Sources and observation dates

Inventory source: EIA-860M workbook (preliminary)
EIA reporting month: Aug 2026
EIA retrieved: Oct 10, 2026
OSM extract: Oct 9, 2026
OSM last mapped edit: Jul 2, 2024
Map prepared: Oct 10, 2026
Field verification: Not reported

Reporting month describes the inventory. Retrieval and map preparation describe processing; an OSM edit does not establish an in-service date.

EIA source inventory

Units and generators

Operating generator records and technology attributes reported through EIA-860.

Generator	Capacity	Technology	Operation	Status
1	280.5 MW 260 MW summer	Natural Gas Steam Turbine Natural Gas · ST	Jan 1963 Retirement: Jun 2015	Operating
2	816.3 MW 800 MW summer	Conventional Steam Coal Bituminous Coal · ST	Oct 1969 Retirement: May 2015	Operating

Commercial, land, and environmental record

Source-backed project transactions, agreements, land records, permits, and environmental disclosures. Portfolio and adjacent-project facts remain explicitly scoped.

Transactions and agreements

Regulatory Approval

Aug 1, 2014

The Kentucky Public Service Commission approved Kentucky Power's certificate of public convenience and necessity for the conversion of Big Sandy Unit 1 from coal-fired to natural-gas-fired generation. Projected cost approximately $50 million. Post-conversion capacity expected at approximately 268 MW.

Kentucky Power Company · Kentucky Public Service Commission

kentuckypower.com

Unit Retirement

May 31, 2015

Kentucky Power retired Big Sandy Unit 2 (800 MW coal-fired unit) to comply with federal Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS) environmental requirements.

Kentucky Power Company

psc.ky.gov

Fuel Conversion Start

Nov 13, 2015

Big Sandy Unit 1 ceased operation as a coal-fired generating unit. Conversion to natural gas began shortly thereafter.

Kentucky Power Company

kentuckypower.com

Construction Completion

May 2016

Major construction for the coal-to-natural-gas conversion of Big Sandy Unit 1 was completed by mid-May 2016.

Kentucky Power Company

kentuckypower.com

Unit Return To Service

May 30, 2016

The converted Big Sandy Unit 1 went online and began supplying up to 268 MW of gas-generated electricity to Kentucky Power customers through the PJM Interconnection.

Kentucky Power Company · PJM Interconnection, LLC

kentuckypower.com

Related parties and identifiers

Parties, market resources, and identifiers tied to this asset, with owner, operator, developer, EPC, compliance provider, and interconnecting entity roles kept separate.

Relationship graph

Drag organizations to explore the network. Select a node to pin its details and available page link.

AssetMarket / regulator

Parties and identifiers

OrganizationRoleBasis

American Electric PowerParent companyparent company

Kentucky Public Service CommissionRegulatorstate utility regulator

U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyRegulatorenvironmental reporting regulator

Reporting portfolio

EIA reporting entity

Kentucky Power Co

Entity 22053

Operating portfolio

2 plants

2 states

Reported capacity

1,913.1 MW

Conventional Steam Coal · Natural Gas Steam Turbine

Largest reported plants in this portfolio
Largest reported plants	Capacity	State
Mitchell (WV)	1,632.6 MW	WV
Big SandyCurrent	280.5 MW	KY

Portfolio membership follows the latest EIA-860 reporting entity. It does not imply ultimate ownership.

View full reporting portfolio

Timeline and sources

Project milestones and public references behind the asset profile.

Project timeline

Jan 1963
Jan 1963
Generator enters operationEIA-860
EIA-860 lists generator 1 with this operating date.
Oct 1969
Oct 1969
Generator enters operationEIA-860
EIA-860 lists generator 2 with this operating date.
Aug 1, 2014
Aug 1, 2014
KPSC approves Unit 1 coal-to-natural-gas conversionkentuckypow...
The Kentucky Public Service Commission approved Kentucky Power's certificate of public convenience and necessity for the conversion of Big Sandy Unit 1 from coal-fired to natural-gas-fired generation. Projected cost approximately $50 million. Post-conversion capacity expected at approximately 268 MW.
View 7 more milestonesHide 7 milestones
1. May 2015
  May 2015
  Planned generator retirementEIA-860
  EIA-860 lists a planned retirement for generator 2.
2. May 31, 2015
  May 31, 2015
Oct 26, 2021
Oct 26, 2021
Proposed sale of Kentucky operations announcedaep.com
American Electric Power announced an agreement to sell its Kentucky operations, including Kentucky Power Company and its generation assets including Big Sandy, to Liberty, a subsidiary of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., for $2.846 billion enterprise value. The sale was expected to close in Q2 2022 pending regulatory approvals.
Apr 17, 2023
Apr 17, 2023
Proposed portfolio sale terminatedaep.com
American Electric Power and Liberty agreed to terminate the previously announced transaction under which AEP would sell its Kentucky operations to Liberty. Kentucky Power's distribution and transmission operations remained AEP companies. No ownership transfer of Big Sandy occurred.
Nov 8, 2023
Nov 8, 2023
Plant switchgear replacement completedkentuckypow...
Kentucky Power replaced the original switchgear at Big Sandy, which had served the plant for approximately 60 years. The replacement improved maintenance safety, reliability, and reduced the risk of generation outages.

Sources

PublisherReferenceType

U.S. Energy Information AdministrationEIA-860 generator inventoryFederal registry

U.S. Energy Information AdministrationEIA-923 generation filingsFederal filing

kentuckypower.comkentuckypower.compublic_source

Common questions about Big Sandy

Answered from the published record above. Questions whose inputs this profile does not carry are omitted rather than estimated.

How big is Big Sandy?

Big Sandy reports 280.5 MW natural gas of operating nameplate capacity. These technology ratings do not establish a common export limit. Source: EIA Aug 2026.

What kind of plant is Big Sandy?

Big Sandy is a Natural Gas Steam Turbine facility in Lawrence County, KY, participating in the PJM market.

Where is Big Sandy located?

Big Sandy is in Lawrence County, KY, inside the PJM balancing area.

Who operates Big Sandy?

Big Sandy is operated by Kentucky Power Co according to the EIA generator inventory. Reporting membership does not by itself establish ultimate ownership.

How much electricity does Big Sandy generate?

Big Sandy reported 1,101.7 GWh over the twelve months to 2024-12. Figures are net generation as filed to EIA-923.

How does Big Sandy compare to other plants?

By capacity, Big Sandy ranks #89 of 205 operating plants of the same technology nationally. It ranks #6 of 9 in KY.

Co-located assets

Plants within 25 km, nearest first, regardless of technology. Proximity is straight-line distance between mapped plant coordinates; it does not by itself establish a shared point of interconnection.

Riverside Generating LLCNatural Gas Fired Combustion TurbineNatural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine · same type1,150 MW2.3 km Big Sandy Peaker PlantNatural Gas Fired Combustion TurbineNatural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine · same type353 MW19 km Ceredo Generating StationNatural Gas Fired Combustion TurbineNatural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine · same type519 MW23 km

Overview

Infrastructure record

Overview

Infrastructure record

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Structured profile

Generation and physical site

Reported operating nameplate by technology

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Units and generators

Performance

Peer context

Monthly generation

Grid and market context

Market registration

Nearby substations

Commercial, land, and environmental record

Transactions and agreements

Related parties and identifiers

Relationship graph

Parties and identifiers

Reporting portfolio

Timeline and sources

Project timeline

Sources

Common questions about Big Sandy

How big is Big Sandy?

What kind of plant is Big Sandy?

Where is Big Sandy located?

Who operates Big Sandy?

How much electricity does Big Sandy generate?

How does Big Sandy compare to other plants?

Co-located assets

Explore related directories