Raccoon Mountain
Hydro power plant · Hamilton County, Tennessee
Nameplate capacity
1,714 MW
Rank in Tennessee
#5
of 106 plants
In service since
1978
December 1978
Details
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Hydroelectric Pumped Storage
- Operator
- Tennessee Valley Authority
- County
- Hamilton County
- Generating units
- 4
- Share of state capacity
- 7.22%
- Rank among hydro plants in Tennessee
- #1 of 29
- EIA plant code
- 6151
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hydroelectric Pumped Storage | 428 MW | 405 MW | 1979 | Operating |
| 2 | Hydroelectric Pumped Storage | 428 MW | 404 MW | 1978 | Operating |
| 3 | Hydroelectric Pumped Storage | 428 MW | 404 MW | 1979 | Operating |
| 4 | Hydroelectric Pumped Storage | 428 MW | 404 MW | 1979 | 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
| Sequoyah | Nuclear | 2,441 MW |
| Gallatin (TN) | Coal | 1,918 MW |
| Kingston | Coal | 1,700 MW |
| Johnsonville | Natural gas | 1,676 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 1,714 MW solar plant and a 1,714 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