State officials tout Tennessee’s push to grow nuclear energy and workforce

Tennessee’s push to expand nuclear energy and related industry gained a public progress report in the Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. David Salyers, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and chair of the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Advisory Council, told senators the council convened in fall 2023 and delivered a final report in November 2024 that shaped the governor’s FY26 budget.

Salyers said the administration and legislature included a suite of nuclear investments in the FY26 budget “for a total of $92,600,000 investment.” He described the council’s priorities as accelerating deployment of resilient, baseload generation, supporting TVA’s first-of-a-kind cost challenges, creating a statewide workforce plan, and remediating contaminated sites for productive reuse — particularly on the Oak Ridge Reservation. “We really leaned into governor Lee’s admonition to accelerate the deployment of resilient, reliable base load power,” Salyers said.

The commissioner emphasized cross-agency collaboration with the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and federal partners. He also described efforts to develop a state regulatory framework that would address new technologies including fusion and to remain engaged with national and international regulators as draft fusion regulations are developed. Salyers said the council officially sunset on Nov. 1, 2024, but its coordination has been picked up by the Tennessee Nuclear Network (TNN).