Norris Dam
Hydro power plant · Anderson County, Tennessee
Nameplate capacity
131 MW
Rank in Tennessee
#26
of 106 plants
In service since
1936
July 1936
Details
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Operator
- Tennessee Valley Authority
- County
- Anderson County
- Generating units
- 2
- Share of state capacity
- 0.55%
- Rank among hydro plants in Tennessee
- #10 of 29
- EIA plant code
- 3411
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 66 MW | 64 MW | 1936 | Operating |
| 2 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 66 MW | 64 MW | 1936 | Operating |
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 Tennessee
| Yum Yum Solar LLC | Solar | 147 MW |
| Cherokee Dam | Hydro | 135 MW |
| Boone Dam | Hydro | 106 MW |
| Nickajack | Hydro | 104 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 131 MW solar plant and a 131 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 Tennessee power plants · What Tennessee actually generates