Wilson Dam and the TVA System

Wilson Dam was important to TVA's operations from the beginning, and the Wilson Dam area served as the headquarters for TVA's initial agricultural and chemical programs. Today, Wilson Dam serves as a training facility for TVA's hydroelectric workers. Although it was completed in 1924, Wilson Dam remains the most powerful conventional hydroelectric dam in the TVA system. TVA dams do more than generate hydroelectric power: their reservoirs create a safe, navigable channel throughout the Tennessee River System, including at Muscle Shoals, and provide crucial water storage that prevents the kind of large-scale flooding that once ravaged the region. TVA also pursues greater energy efficiency through programs such as Energy Right Solutions, which encourage efficiency in homes through low-interest loans for heat pumps and practical ways to save energy and money. With a diverse portfolio that includes hydroelectric dams, coal-fired plants, natural gas plants, nuclear plants, a pumped storage hydropower plant, and sites powered by wind turbines, methane gas, or solar panels, TVA continues to keep energy costs in the Tennessee Valley region below the national average.

Alabama · United States