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Wheeler Dam

Hydro power plant · Lawrence County, Alabama

Nameplate capacity
404 MW
Rank in Alabama
#20
of 80 plants
In service since
1936
November 1936

Details

Primary fuel
Hydro
Technology
Conventional Hydroelectric
Operator
Tennessee Valley Authority
County
Lawrence County
Generating units
11
Share of state capacity
1.22%
Rank among hydro plants in Alabama
#2 of 23
EIA plant code
49

Generating units

Individual generating units at Wheeler Dam
UnitTechnologyNameplateSummerOnlineStatus
11Conventional Hydroelectric44 MW42 MW1963Operating
9Conventional Hydroelectric44 MW42 MW1962Operating
10Conventional Hydroelectric36 MW42 MW1963Operating
1Conventional Hydroelectric35 MW34 MW1936Operating
2Conventional Hydroelectric35 MW33 MW1937Operating
3Conventional Hydroelectric35 MW34 MW1941Operating
4Conventional Hydroelectric35 MW33 MW1941Operating
5Conventional Hydroelectric35 MW35 MW1948Operating
6Conventional Hydroelectric35 MW35 MW1949Operating
7Conventional Hydroelectric35 MW34 MW1949Operating
8Conventional Hydroelectric35 MW35 MW1950Operating

Nameplate is the maximum rated output; summer capacity is what the unit can reliably deliver on a hot day, which is typically lower.

Similarly sized plants in Alabama

Wilson DamHydro667 MW
McWilliamsNatural gas654 MW
Theodore Cogen FacilityNatural gas317 MW
Hog Bayou Energy CenterNatural gas280 MW

About this data

From EIA’s inventory of operable generators, May 2026 release. Capacity is nameplate — the maximum rated output of the equipment, not what the plant actually generates over a year, which depends on how often it runs. A 404 MW solar plant and a 404 MW nuclear plant have the same entry here and produce very different amounts of electricity.

“In service since” is the earliest in-service date among the units still listed, so a site rebuilt around newer equipment can read as younger than the site itself. All Alabama power plants · What Alabama actually generates