Watts Bar Nuclear Plant
Rhea County, Tennessee · EIA plant ID 7722 · Operator: Tennessee Valley Authority
Nameplate2,540MWSummer 2,245 MW
Generators2in service
Net generation19,795GWh12 mo to Aug 2026
Capacity factor101%!nuclear units, summer MW
Heat rate—thermal plants only
First online1996
The 12-month figures include preliminary EIA-923 months, which EIA revises. Final data runs through Dec 2025.
Monthly net generation
EIA-923, all units at the plant. Net of station use; storage can go negative.
FinalPreliminary
Capacity factor by year
Net MWh ÷ (summer MW × hours), nuclear units. Each year uses that year's EIA-860 ratings; the hollow dot is the latest 12 months.
Heat rate by year
Electric fuel MMBtu × 1000 ÷ net MWh (Btu/kWh, HHV), fossil units only; CT + CA counted as one combined-cycle block.
Heat rate applies to fuel-burning (thermal) units only.
Annual data table
| Year | Net GWh | Capacity factor | Heat rate (Btu/kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 9,626.6 | 97.4% | — |
| 2002 | 9,078.4 | 91.1% | — |
| 2003 | 8,548.8 | 87.1% | — |
| 2004 | 9,856.9 | 100.1% | — |
| 2005 | 8,804 | 89.6% | — |
| 2006 | 6,678.1 | 68.0% | — |
| 2007 | 10,049.7 | 102.2% | — |
| 2008 | 8,112.3 | 82.2% | — |
| 2009 | 9,207.5 | 93.6% | — |
| 2010 | 9,738.5 | 99.0% | — |
| 2011 | 8,231 | 83.7% | — |
| 2012 | 8,516.5 | 86.3% | — |
| 2013 | 9,967.8 | 101.3% | — |
| 2014 | 8,777.6 | 89.2% | — |
| 2015 | 8,449.2 | 85.9% | — |
| 2016 | 12,335.5 | 78.9% | — |
| 2017 | 13,576.2 | 69.0% | — |
| 2018 | 18,472.6 | 93.9% | — |
| 2019 | 17,655.8 | 89.8% | — |
| 2020 | 17,589 | 89.2% | — |
| 2021 | 17,675.6 | 89.9% | — |
| 2022 | 16,808.1 | 85.5% | — |
| 2023 | 18,709.8 | 95.1% | — |
| 2024 | 18,758.7 | 95.1% | — |
| 2025 | 16,273.3 | 82.8% | — |
Generators
EIA-860 (annual) with EIA-860M updates through Sep 2026. EIA-923 reports generation by plant, prime mover and fuel, not by unit, so unit-level output isn't shown.
| Gen ID | Technology | Prime mover | Nameplate MW | Summer MW | Online | Status | Planned retirement | OEM / model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nuclear | ST | 1,269.9 | 1,123 | May 1996 | Operating | — | coming soon |
| 2 | Nuclear | ST | 1,269.9 | 1,122 | Jun 2016 | Operating | — | coming soon |
Owner / operator
Operator: Tennessee Valley Authority. Ownership shares by in-service nameplate MW (EIA-860 Schedule 4; units not listed there are wholly owned by the operator).
| Tennessee Valley Authority | 100.0% | 2,540 MW |
Nearby plants
Within 80 km.
| Watts Bar Hydro | 175 MW | 2 km |
| DMAT Denso - SEAT Solar Holdings, LLC | 5 MW | 18.8 km |
| Bowater Newsprint Calhoun Operation | retired | 34.1 km |
| Kingston | 1,700 MW | 41.1 km |
| Primient Loudon Plant | 61 MW | 45 km |
| Vonore Battery Energy Storage System | — | 46.5 km |