Search
Search plants, projects, owners, and states
Search plants, projects, owners, and states
57.6 MW Hydro operating in Carter, TN
57.6 MW
Nameplate Capacity
2
Generators
units
Conventional Hydroelectric
Technology
1949
Operating Since
Coordinates
36.3413, -82.1264
County
Carter, TN
Nearby Plants
Forward-looking, asset-specific exposure analytics combining climate hazards, generation variability, and counterparty risk into a single decision-grade view. Powered by InfraRisk.
See the full risk decomposition + scenarios for this asset.
| Field | EIA | GEM | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Tennessee Valley Authority | Tennessee Valley Authority | — |
| Owner(s) | Tennessee Valley Authority | Tennessee Valley Authority | — |
| Status | Operating | operating | — |
Watauga Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control dam on the Watauga River in Carter County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the 1940s as part of efforts to control flooding in the Tennessee River watershed. At 318 feet (97 m), Watauga is the second-highest dam in the TVA river and reservoir system, and at the time of its completion was one of the highest earth-and-rock dams in the United States. The dam impounds the TVA Watauga Reservoir of 6,430 acres (2,600 ha), and its tailwaters feed into Wilbur Lake.
Read more on WikipediaThe Watauga Hydroelectric Plant, located in Carter County, Tennessee, is a 57.6 MW conventional hydroelectric facility. It began operating in 1949 and consists of two generators. The plant is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which also serves as its balancing authority. The primary fuel source is water (WAT). Watauga is located within the SERC NERC region.
In the most recent year with available data, the plant generated 154,816 MWh of electricity, achieving a capacity factor of 30.6%. Watauga ranks as the 18th largest power plant in Tennessee out of 29, and nationally it ranks 281st out of 1464 plants.
Generated from EIA, GEM, and public data sources
Grid Region
Southeast
Market
SEEM Participant
NERC Region
SERC — SERC Reliability Corporation
Balancing Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Grid Voltage
69.0 kV
Regulatory Status
RE — Regulated
Entity Type
Federal
Sector
Electric Utility
Monthly net generation as reported to EIA-923 — useful for historical context. Confidence varies sharply by fuel type; the band above and the “About this data” button explain the caveats specific to this plant and how InfraSure’s in-house model handles them.
12.9K MWh
Latest Month
154.8K MWh
Annual Generation
30.6%
Capacity Factor
Forward-looking generation outlook with probabilistic ranges across weather, demand, and policy scenarios. Powered by InfraSure's generation modeling stack.
See the full forecast + scenario decomposition for this asset.
2013
$2,294/kW
Est. Construction Cost
Total estimated cost: $132.2M
Forward revenue, DSCR bands, and refinancing risk projected under price, demand, and policy scenarios. Powered by InfraSure's asset cashflow stack.
See the full revenue + DSCR projection for this asset.
This plant's balancing authority participates in the Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM). SEEM is a bilateral exchange — no public nodal pricing.
No wholesale contracts disclosed in FERC EQR for this plant.
FERC EQR captures bilateral wholesale energy + capacity contracts ≥$1M/yr filed quarterly by jurisdictional sellers — covers renewable PPAs, thermal energy sales agreements, capacity contracts, and tolling agreements alike. Many plants don't appear: regulated-utility output flows to ratepayers via cost-of-service rather than bilateral contracts; small projects fall below the filing threshold; tax-equity-financed renewables route offtake to investors not utilities; merchant plants sell into ISO clearing markets without bilateral contracts. News-extracted buyer facts (below) may surface contracts disclosed only through announcements.
Last updated 2026-03-14
View all articlesNo Ask reports yet for this entity.
Ask about WataugaForward forecasts, scenario decomposition, and risk-decision tooling for this asset.