A very rare look at one of the new giant hydro turbines being installed at Watts Bar Dam on the Tennessee River today. Weighing in at 217 tons, the new turbine technology allows the units to make more power for our hydroelectric program, increasing the total 5 unit plant capacity by 22.6 megawatts.

Watts Bar Dam will now be able to produce a total of 192 megawatts, enough to power 112,000 homes. This completes the modernization of all five units at the 72 year old facility. This unit is scheduled to return to operation this coming June, once the work is complete.

Since the Hydro Modernization Program began in the 1990's, TVA has completed 59 the Modernization of generating units to date, gaining over 531 megawatts in hydro-electric capacity.