Power Plants in Alabama

Alabama's power sector in numbers

Bywatts maps 64 operating power plants with 31.6 GW of nameplate capacity in Alabama. Coal leads with 36% of that capacity across 7 plants, followed by Natural Gas (32%) and Nuclear (17%). The inventory also includes 13 plants (3.9 GW) that EIA-860 lists as retired and 1 never built; the largest retired plant is WIDOWS CREEK (1,969 MW, retired 2015).

The largest operating plants are BROWNS FERRY (3,494 MW, Nuclear, TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY), BARRY (2,842 MW, Coal, ALABAMA POWER CO) and JAMES H MILLER JR (2,822 MW, Coal, ALABAMA POWER CO).

Of the 64 operating plants with a recorded commissioning year, 15 came online in 2000 or later and 3 in 2010 or later; the busiest decade for new capacity was the 1970s (10.1 GW).

The largest operators by operating capacity are ALABAMA POWER CO (22 plants, 13.0 GW), TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY (7 plants, 6.5 GW) and SOUTHERN POWER CO (2 plants, 3.3 GW).

Retail electricity sales in Alabama reached 89.2 TWh in 2025, up 0.4% over ten years and up 1.9% year on year; residential customers took 37.5% of it. The average retail price across all sectors was 12.62 cents per kWh, up 35.2% since 2015.

The database also maps 963 named substations (9 of the 54 with a recorded voltage are rated 345 kV or above), no data centers, 23 solar installers and 14 solar companies in Alabama.

Operating capacity by fuel

Retail electricity sales

Sources: HIFLD power-plant inventory (capacity, fuel, operator), EIA-860 (commissioning year, retirements, operable capacity), EIA retail sales and revenue series through January 2026. Counts are of plants Bywatts lists, not every generator in the state.