Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) announced Thursday April 2 his state has filed an application to make the area around the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site a DOE Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus.
“Tennessee’s innovation has positioned the Volunteer State as the global epicenter of nuclear energy,” Lee said in a press release. “As our state answered the call during the Manhattan Project and helped shape the course of history, Tennessee stands ready once again to lead in advancing safe, reliable energy solutions our nation depends on,” Lee said.
“I’m grateful for DOE’s consideration of our proposal and look forward to continued partnership with the Trump Administration to secure America’s energy dominance, strengthen national security, and deliver long-term economic opportunity for Tennesseans.”
Tennessee already has “the most comprehensive nuclear ecosystem in the U.S.,” according to the release as the state has “fuel fabrication, enrichment, reprocessing, advanced separations, and recycling of used nuclear fuel.” DOE already has the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex in East Tennessee.
“More than 230 nuclear lifecycle companies operate in the Oak Ridge–Knoxville corridor,” already, according to the news release.
Utah has also announced its site for a potential nuclear lifecycle hub.