KNOXVILLE, TENN. – East Tennessee could become a nuclear industry hub, several state officials said at a conference here Wednesday.
That was a central theme in an afternoon panel discussion of regional business opportunities at the Energy, Technology and Environmental Business Association’s (ETEBA) annual Business Opportunities and Technical Conference.
Tennessee Department Economic and Community Development Chief Policy Officer Braden Stover said the state agency has set up a Nuclear Energy Fund to help expand the state’s nuclear development and companies to build in the state.
The state fund, created in 2023 by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R), currently has $70 million.
Though Stover, who oversees the fund, said $70 million is not a lot of money to support nuclear projects, it demonstrates the state’s dedication to nuclear development.
Tennessee Department Economic and Community Development serves as a point of contact for businesses that assists in site selection, workforce development and other functions, Stover said.
Senior Adviser of Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Bureau of Environment Patrick Flood said that East Tennessee is not just interested in new reactors, but a “vertical integration of the supply chain.”
In the last two years, several companies have made large investments into East Tennessee, particularly around the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site..
Santa Clara, Calif.-based nuclear company Oklo made a $1.7 billion investment into a nuclear fuel recycling facility in Oak Ridge. Last year, Orano made a “multi-billion investment” into Oak Ridge to build a uranium enrichment facility.
Other panelists were Heidi Smith, Tennessee Valley Authority vice president of economic development and Todd Ailes, Consolidated Nuclear Security chief operating officer and Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Bob Slattery, industrial collaborations manager at the lab’s manufacturing demonstration facility.