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218.6 MW Hydro operating in Marshall, KY — Tennessee Valley Authority
218.6 MW
Nameplate Capacity
5
Generators
units
Conventional Hydroelectric
Technology
1944
Operating Since
Coordinates
37.0131, -88.2692
County
Marshall, KY
Nearby Plants
| Field | EIA | GEM | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Tennessee Valley Authority | Tennessee Valley Authority | — |
| Owner(s) | Tennessee Valley Authority | Tennessee Valley Authority | — |
| Status | Operating | operating | — |
Kentucky Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River on the county line between Livingston and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The dam is the lowermost of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s and early 1940s to improve navigation on the lower part of the river and reduce flooding on the lower Ohio and Mississippi rivers. It was a major project initiated during the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, to invest in infrastructure to benefit the country. The dam impounds the Kentucky Lake of 160,000 acres (65,000 ha), which is the largest of TVA's reservoirs and the largest artificial lake by area in the Eastern United States. It was designated as an National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1996 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
Read more on WikipediaKentucky Dam, located in Marshall County, Kentucky, is a hydroelectric power plant owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The plant began operating in 1944 and has a total capacity of 218.6 MW, distributed across five generators. It utilizes conventional hydroelectric technology, drawing power from the impoundment of the Tennessee River. The plant operates within the Tennessee Valley Authority balancing authority and the SERC NERC region.
In the most recent year with available data, Kentucky Dam generated 1,143,080 MWh of electricity, achieving a capacity factor of 59.5%. The plant is ranked as the second largest of five hydroelectric facilities in Kentucky, and 88th out of 194 nationally. News coverage related to the plant has focused on industry trends, hazards, and grid operations.
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
161.0 kV
Regulatory Status
RE — Regulated
Entity Type
Federal
Sector
Electric Utility
87.3K MWh
Latest Month
1.1M MWh
Annual Generation
59.5%
Capacity Factor
2013
$2,294/kW
Est. Construction Cost
Total estimated cost: $501.6M
This plant's balancing authority participates in the Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM). SEEM is a bilateral exchange — no public nodal pricing.
Last updated 2026-03-14
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