Photo of Dale Hollow Dam, with a dam with water pouring through the turbines, people in lower left looking up at it.

Hydropower

Hydropower Program

Published Jan. 16, 2024
Updated: Jan. 16, 2024

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Hydropower Program is the largest generator of hydropower in the US, with 75 power-producing dams housing 356 individual generating units.  USACE’s hydropower assets generate more than 70 billion kilowatt hours per year of clean renewable energy.  This clean energy is enough to power 10 cities the size of Seattle.  Additionally, the revenue generated by the USACE hydropower fleet is used to repay the original construction costs of the hydropower projects and to fund the operation, maintenance and modernization investments of the hydropower fleet.

Photo of Dale Hollow Dam, with a dam with water pouring through the turbines, people in lower left looking up at it.
SLIDESHOW | 4 images | Dale Hollow Dam Dale Hollow Dam photo

Did you know?

  • USACE Hydropower is the largest renewable energy producer in the US
  • 1 out of every 4 Megawatts of hydropower in the US is generated by our plants
  • USACE Hydropower is the 5th largest electric supplier in the US
  • USACE hydroelectric plants save 50 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions per year
  • Our technicians work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and minute-by-minute to monitor energy production

Hydropower Projects

Hydropower
1/12/2024
The Nashville District Hydropower Program began under the Flood Control Act of 1938, which authorized minimum provisions for hydropower at flood control projects.  The first power plant constructed in...
Kentucky Lock
1/11/2024
Kentucky Lock is located near Gilbertsville, Kentucky, 22.4 miles from the confluence of the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers.  It is 20 miles east of Paducah, Kentucky. The 184-mile reservoir created by...
Wolf Creek Dam
1/11/2024
History of Wolf Creek DamThe Wolf Creek Project was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1938 and the Rivers and Harbor Act of 1946.  Construction of the project, designed and supervised by the U.S...
Old Hickory Dam
1/11/2024
HistoryThe Old Hickory Lock and Dam, located on the Cumberland River at mile 216.2 in Sumner and Davidson Counties, Tennessee, and are approximately 25 miles upstream from Nashville, Tenn. The City of...
Martins Fork Dam
1/11/2024
HistoryMartins Fork Lake is located at river mile 15.6 on the Martins Fork of the Cumberland River in the scenic mountainous terrain of Harlan County, 13 miles southeast of the town of Harlan,...
Laurel River Dam
1/11/2024
Laurel River Lake is a key project in the development of the Cumberland River Basin.  The lake is located in southeastern Kentucky, encompassing portions of Laurel and Whitley Counties. In the 1960's,...