WALTER BOULDIN DAM
OperatingHydro power plant
- Capacity
- 225 MW
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- County
- Elmore County
- Operator
- ALABAMA POWER CO
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 1967
- EIA plant ID
- 4
- Generators
- 3
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Net generation (2024)
- 450 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 23%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 32.5839, -86.2831
WALTER BOULDIN DAM, a 225 MW Hydro power plant in Elmore County, Alabama. Operated by ALABAMA POWER CO, commissioned 1967.
How WALTER BOULDIN DAM compares
With 225 MW of capacity, WALTER BOULDIN DAM ranks 23rd among the 64 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Alabama and 3rd of the 23 operating Hydro plants in the state. It accounts for about 6.9% of Alabama's operating Hydro capacity and 0.7% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 80th-largest of the 1,243 operating Hydro plants in the database. Commissioned in 1967, it is older than 57% of the 64 operating Alabama plants with a recorded commissioning year. Its operator, ALABAMA POWER CO, runs 22 operating plants in Alabama totaling 12,989 MW. It shares Elmore County with 4 other operating plants, including MARTIN DAM and JORDAN DAM.
EIA-860 lists 3 generators at the site with 225 MW of nameplate capacity, all conventional hydroelectric technology. Net generation was 450 GWh in 2024 (a 23% capacity factor), down 12% from 2022.
Grid neighborhood
The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 115 kV line owned by ALABAMA POWER CO, under 0.1 miles away. Another 8 operating power plants totaling 2,113 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is E B HARRIS ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANT (1,304 MW, Natural Gas).
Computed by Bywatts from HIFLD power plant and transmission line records and EIA-860/923 survey data; distances are straight-line. Sources and methodology
Weather peril exposure
WALTER BOULDIN DAM is a 225 MW hydro power plant in Elmore County, AL, operated by ALABAMA POWER CO, commissioned in 1967. Elmore County carries moderate modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 2.0 of 5 at the 25th national percentile. Riverine flooding is the leading peril, rated Relatively Moderate by FEMA at the 86th percentile.
The Bywatts loss layer is calibrated to solar PV hardware, so it is not applied to a hydro plant. The ratings below are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings for this location.
Elmore County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverine flooding | Relatively Moderate | 86th | 4.4 of 5 | 1.5 |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | 71st | 3.8 of 5 | 0.08 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 68th | 3.7 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 65th | 3.6 of 5 | 0.55 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 49th | 2.9 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Lightning | Relatively High | 46th | 2.8 of 5 | 66.7 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 42nd | 2.7 of 5 | 9.0 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Moderate | 38th | 2.5 of 5 | 1.2 |
| Hail | Very Low | 29th | 2.2 of 5 | 2.6 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Low | 23rd | 1.9 of 5 | 0.42 |
| Winter weather | Very Low | 9th | 1.4 of 5 | 1.4 |
Perils not assessed in Elmore County
These perils carry no usable National Risk Index figure for this county, so they are excluded from the scoring rather than scored zero. A zero would claim the peril was assessed and found benign.
| Peril | Why it is not scored |
|---|---|
| Coastal flooding | FEMA rating is "Not Applicable" for this county |
Model hail, wind and flood exposure for Elmore County in the weather risk calculator
Ratings are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings; the peril score is a Bywatts transform of the FEMA national percentile. Full data sources and the solar vulnerability methodology are in the weather risk calculator.
Modeled estimate for screening and negotiation. Built from FEMA National Risk Index county hazard data and a solar vulnerability layer documented above. Not a quote, a binder, or actuarial advice, and not a substitute for a carrier's own model. Hazard data: FEMA National Risk Index December 2025, synced 2026-07-24. Resolution is county level, not site level.