Hydropower provides a vast majority of Kentucky's renewable electricity generation, and many unused dams could offer an opportunity for more.

Unlike other technologies like solar and wind, hydropower has seen broad bipartisan support, from the White House to the Kentucky legislature.

Upfront cost and a lengthy licensing process remain steep barriers for hydropower projects, and can disproportionately affect the smaller projects more common in Kentucky.

When it was built nearly a century ago, the Ohio Falls hydroelectric dam churned out enough power to serve nearly the entire budding city of Louisville.

Adorned by wooden handrails, vintage analog gauges and original tile, the plant's eight turbine units still chug away today, producing carbon-free electricity from the Ohio River. Angl

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