# Colbert County, Alabama: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Muscle Shoals, Sheffield and Tuscumbia Colbert County hosts some of the generating capacity Alabama runs on. Colbert County is home to Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, Tuscumbia and Littleville. 200 MW of new generation is planned here across 1 unit, led by Urban Grid Solar (solar), the 4th largest pipeline among Alabama's counties. 921 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly natural gas. Electrical contractors employ 489, up 32.2% since 2019 against up 28.7% statewide, at an average $74,645 a year. Next door, Lawrence County has 393 MW of planned generation. 200 MW of new generation planned here, solar leading +32.2% electrical contractor jobs since 2019, now 489 1,397 MW of operating power plants, mostly natural gas ## Cities and towns in Colbert County Colbert County is home to Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, Tuscumbia and Littleville. Muscle Shoals17,666 residents Sheffield9,416 residents Tuscumbia9,332 residents Littleville1,065 residents Cherokee975 residents Leighton669 residents Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Colbert County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Alabama | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 57,306 | 59,474 | ▲ 3.8% | 24th of 67 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 24,252 | 24,754 | ▲ 2.1% | 32nd of 67 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $45,054 | $59,673 | ▲ 32.4% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 1,620 | 1,763 | ▲ 8.8% | 34th of 41 by growth | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 370 | 489 | ▲ 32.2% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.7% | 3.9% | ▲ 0.2pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 921 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Planned generation (Aug 2026) | — | 200 MW | 14% of today's fleet | 4th of 11 by size | Construction employs 1,763, up 8.8% since 2019, and construction is 1.3 times as concentrated here as in the U.S. economy. Its power plants have 1,397 MW of capacity, 84% of it natural gas, the 10th largest fleet in Alabama. Employers here counted 24,754 jobs in 2025, up 2.1% from 2019. Sheffield Utilities is the largest utility serving Colbert County, one of 4 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 12.35¢/kWh in 2024, below the 13.24¢ median for Alabama utilities. Unemployment was 3.9% in August 2026, against 3.7% in 2019. 59,474 people live here, up 3.8% since 2020. ## Who powers Colbert County ### Utilities with service territory in Colbert County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Sheffield Utilities | Municipal | Bundled | 15,663 | 12.35¢ | 20% | | City of Muscle Shoals | Municipal | Bundled | 7,154 | 11.96¢ | 34% | | Franklin Electric Coop - (AL) | Cooperative | Bundled | 5,979 | 14.03¢ | 60% | | City of Tuscumbia | Municipal | Bundled | 4,038 | 11.81¢ | 30% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Natural gas | 1,170 MW | 84% | | Solar | 227 MW | 16% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Colbert | Tennessee Valley Authority | Natural gas | 1,170 MW | 1972 | | Muscle Shoals | Muscle Shoals Solar, LLC | Solar | 227 MW | 2021 | ### Planned generation | Plant | Technology | MW | Status | Year | Owner | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Spring Valley Solar 2 | Solar Photovoltaic | 200 MW | Approvals pending | 2028 | Urban Grid Solar | ## The Colbert County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 24,754 | $59,673 | 1.00 | | Construction | 1,763 | $70,509 | 1.34 | | Electrical contractors | 489 | $74,645 | 2.74 | | Data processing and hosting | 26 | $64,429 | 0.34 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Colbert County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Colbert County. Alabama has 18 local measures on record statewide. ## Colbert County and its neighbors Of the 4 counties that border Colbert County, Lawrence County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Colbert County | 59,474 | ▲ 2.1% | 1,397 MW | 200 MW | — | — | | Franklin County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/franklin-county) | 32,449 | ▼ 0.9% | — | — | — | — | | Lauderdale County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/lauderdale-county) | 97,135 | ▲ 4.3% | 742 MW | — | — | — | | Lawrence County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/lawrence-county) | 33,843 | ▲ 10.3% | 404 MW | 393 MW | — | — | | Tishomingo County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/tishomingo-county) MS | 18,639 | ▼ 2.7% | — | — | — | — | ## More of Alabama [All Alabama countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama)[Lauderdale County97,135 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/lauderdale-county)[Lawrence County33,843 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/lawrence-county)[Franklin County32,449 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/franklin-county) ## Colbert County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Colbert County, Alabama? 4 utilities have service territory in Colbert County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Sheffield Utilities, City of Muscle Shoals, Franklin Electric Coop - (AL), City of Tuscumbia. The largest, Sheffield Utilities, charged residential customers 12.35¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What county is Muscle Shoals, AL in? Muscle Shoals is in Colbert County, Alabama. About 17,666 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What power plants are in Colbert County? 2 operating plants with 1,397 MW of capacity. The largest is Colbert (1,170 MW, natural gas). ### How much new power is planned in Colbert County? 200 MW across 1 units in the August 2026 EIA-860M inventory, 0 MW of it under construction or built. The largest owner is Urban Grid Solar. ### Are there data centers in Colbert County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Colbert County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Lawrence County. ### Is Colbert County adding jobs? Employers counted 24,754 jobs in 2025 against 24,252 in 2019 (+2.1%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 1,620 to 1,763. ### Does Colbert County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Colbert County. Alabama has 18 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/alabama/colbert-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).