EC Near Watts Bar Fossil
GreenfieldRhea County, Tennessee · SERC
At a glance
EC Near Watts Bar Fossil is a greenfield datacenter candidate site in Rhea County, Tennessee, scoring 52.7/100 DC Readiness — 18th of 30 scored sites in the county. It sits in the SERC grid region and the VOLUNTEER ELECTRIC COOP service territory, where interconnection has averaged 3.9 years from request to operation.
Power & interconnection
Speed to power
Middle-of-the-pack interconnection conditions for this grid.
Connectivity
Site characteristics
Risk & environment
Location context
Regulatory climate
TVA territory, DC-friendly; fast vertically-integrated interconnection.
TVA infrastructure-cost provisions apply to very large loads.
Incentive detail: Sales tax exemption on DC equipment for $250M+ investments; no state income tax on wages.
Site location
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How does EC Near Watts Bar Fossil compare with other sites in Rhea County?
EC Near Watts Bar Fossil ranks 18th of 30 scored candidate sites in Rhea County. Its 52.7/100 is roughly in line with the county average of 54.7. It is roughly in line with the Tennessee average of 57.0 and roughly in line with the national average of 53.2.
Against the Tennessee average, its strongest sub-score is speed to power (59 vs 58) and its weakest is natural hazard (37 vs 61). Power and speed to power each carry 20% of the composite score, fiber 12%, water 7% and hazard 6%.
How close is EC Near Watts Bar Fossil to power, fiber and other datacenters?
For connectivity, the nearest internet exchange facility is LCUB Data Center at 31.6 miles. 5 fiber providers report service at the location in FCC broadband data. The closest operating datacenter on record is Frontier (supercomputer), 32.4 miles away.
What are the flood, water and hazard risks at EC Near Watts Bar Fossil?
The site is in FEMA flood zone AE, a Special Flood Hazard Area — land with at least a 1% annual chance of flooding. WRI rates baseline water stress at 0.50 on a 0–5 scale. Mapped wetlands (National Wetlands Inventory) are present on the parcel. At the county level, FEMA's National Risk Index rates Rhea County "Relatively High".
Full DC Readiness breakdown
All 13 weighted sub-scores (0–100) behind the composite DC Readiness score.
Nearby comparable sites
Other scored datacenter candidate sites in Rhea County, ranked by DC Readiness.
| Site | Type | Voltage | Capacity | Queue wait | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAP155413 | Substation-Adjacent | 161 kV | 100 MW | 3.9 yrs | 60.0 |
| ST CLAIR | Substation-Adjacent | 161 kV | 100 MW | 3.9 yrs | 59.9 |
| EC Near Watts Bar Fossil | Greenfield | — | — | 3.9 yrs | 59.4 |
| SPRING CITY | Substation-Adjacent | 161 kV | 100 MW | 3.9 yrs | 59.1 |
| NORTH DAYTON | Substation-Adjacent | 161 kV | 100 MW | 3.9 yrs | 59.0 |
| TAP155412 | Substation-Adjacent | 161 kV | 100 MW | 3.9 yrs | 58.8 |
| EC Near Watts Bar Fossil | Greenfield | — | — | 3.9 yrs | 57.6 |
| EC Near Watts Bar Fossil | Greenfield | — | — | 3.9 yrs | 57.2 |
EC Near Watts Bar Fossil: common questions
What is the DC Readiness score of EC Near Watts Bar Fossil?
EC Near Watts Bar Fossil scores 52.7/100 on the GridCensus DC Readiness scale, rated fair. It ranks 18th of 30 scored sites in Rhea County. The Rhea County average is 54.7 and the Tennessee average is 57.0.
Which electric utility serves EC Near Watts Bar Fossil?
VOLUNTEER ELECTRIC COOP (cooperative) holds the retail service territory that contains the site.
What grid region is EC Near Watts Bar Fossil in?
EC Near Watts Bar Fossil is in the SERC region. Projects interconnecting there have averaged a 3.9-year wait from queue request to operation.
Is EC Near Watts Bar Fossil in a flood zone?
The site is in FEMA flood zone AE, a Special Flood Hazard Area — land with at least a 1% annual chance of flooding.
Who owns EC Near Watts Bar Fossil?
Parcel records list the owner as TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY (private land).
How far is EC Near Watts Bar Fossil from an internet exchange?
The nearest internet exchange facility is LCUB Data Center, about 31.6 miles away; 5 fiber providers report service at the location.
Related pages
About this data
Source: GridCensus composite of HIFLD transmission and substation data, EIA, FEMA National Risk Index, FCC broadband data, PeeringDB and ISO interconnection queues, as published October 10, 2026 — GridCensus refreshes it monthly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: GridCensus, “EC Near Watts Bar Fossil, Rhea County, TN”, https://gridcensus.com/datacenter-sites/tennessee/rhea-county/ec-near-watts-bar-fossil-5fe2dd63 (data as of October 10, 2026).
Dataset updated . Screening estimates derived from public data sources.
Figures are screening estimates derived from public infrastructure data. Catalogued capacity reflects theoretical candidate capacity, not deliverable or committed interconnection. Confirm all values with the utility, ISO, and on-the-ground due diligence.
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