Watts Bar Nuclear Plant
Nuclear power plant · Rhea County, Tennessee
Nameplate capacity
2,540 MW
Rank in Tennessee
#2
of 106 plants
In service since
1996
May 1996
Details
- Primary fuel
- Nuclear
- Technology
- Nuclear
- Operator
- Tennessee Valley Authority
- County
- Rhea County
- Generating units
- 2
- Share of state capacity
- 10.70%
- Rank among nuclear plants in Tennessee
- #1 of 2
- EIA plant code
- 7722
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nuclear | 1,270 MW | 1,123 MW | 1996 | Operating |
| 2 | Nuclear | 1,270 MW | 1,122 MW | 2016 | 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
| Cumberland (TN) | Coal | 2,600 MW |
| Sequoyah | Nuclear | 2,441 MW |
| Gallatin (TN) | Coal | 1,918 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 2,540 MW solar plant and a 2,540 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