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2539.8 MW Nuclear operating in Rhea, TN
2,539.8 MW
Nameplate Capacity
2
Generators
units
Nuclear
Technology
1996
Operating Since
Coordinates
35.6021, -84.7895
County
Rhea, TN
Nearby Plants
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| Field | EIA | GEM | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Tennessee Valley Authority | Tennessee Valley Authority | Tennessee Valley Authority |
| Owner(s) | Tennessee Valley Authority | Tennessee Valley Authority | Tennessee Valley Authority |
| Status | Operating | operating | — |
The Watts Bar Nuclear Plant is a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) nuclear reactor pair used for electric power generation. It is located on a 1,770-acre (7.2 km²) site in Rhea County, Tennessee, near Spring City, between Chattanooga and Knoxville. Watts Bar supplies enough electricity for about 1.2 million households in the Tennessee Valley.
Read more on WikipediaWatts Bar Nuclear Plant is located in Rhea County, Tennessee. The plant is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). It has a total capacity of 2,539.8 MW derived from two nuclear reactors. Watts Bar began operating in 1996 and is the first and only US nuclear plant to begin commercial operation in the 21st century (Unit 1 began commercial operation in 1996, and Unit 2 in 2016).
Watts Bar Nuclear Plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Tennessee and the seventh-largest in the United States (out of 55 plants). In the latest year of record, the plant generated 16,273,295 MWh of electricity, operating at a capacity factor of 72.9%. The plant operates within the Tennessee Valley Authority balancing authority area and the SERC NERC region.
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
500.0 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.
1.8M MWh
Latest Month
16.3M MWh
Annual Generation
72.9%
Capacity Factor
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Forward revenue, DSCR bands, and refinancing risk projected under price, demand, and policy scenarios. Powered by InfraSure's asset cashflow stack.
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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 2026-05-31
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