Buchanan Dam (TX)
Hydro power plant · Llano County, Texas
Nameplate capacity
55 MW
Rank in Texas
#607
of 1,071 plants
In service since
1938
January 1938
Details
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Operator
- Lower Colorado River Authority
- County
- Llano County
- Generating units
- 3
- Share of state capacity
- 0.03%
- Rank among hydro plants in Texas
- #5 of 23
- EIA plant code
- 3595
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 18 MW | 18 MW | 1938 | Operating |
| 2 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 18 MW | 18 MW | 1938 | Operating |
| 3 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 18 MW | 18 MW | 1950 | 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 Texas
| WestRock (TX) | Other | 58 MW |
| Bynum Solar Project | Solar | 56 MW |
| Granite Shoals | Hydro | 54 MW |
| Silver Star I Wind Power Project | Wind | 53 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 55 MW solar plant and a 55 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 Texas power plants · What Texas actually generates