Type One Energy, a stellarator fusion energy company, recently announced it will establish operations and expand its research and development (R&D) in Tennessee, becoming the first recipient of funding through the state's Nuclear Energy Fund established by Executive Order 101. In total, the company will invest $223.5 million and create 330 new jobs by locating its headquarters in the Greater Knoxville region and expanding its fusion R&D to Clinton. The company intends to locate at the TVA Bull Run Fossil Plant in Clinton to develop the company’s stellarator fusion prototype machine, Infinity One. Construction will begin following the completion of required environmental reviews, partnership agreements, permits, and operating licenses.

Schneider Electric, an energy management and automation company, recently announced it will expand its manufacturing presence in Middle Tennessee with an investment of approximately $85 million. The company will locate a new facility in Mt. Juliet, creating 355 jobs, and will expand its location in Smryna, creating 100 new jobs. Following the expansion, Schneider will employ more than 1,900 Tennesseans across its facilities in Franklin, Maryville, Memphis, Smyrna, and Mt. Juliet.

Shoals Technologies Group, an electrical balance of systems provider for solar, energy storage, and e-mobility, recently announced it will invest $80 million over the next five years to expand its manufacturing and distribution operations in Portland, TN. As part of the expansion, Shoals will relocate its manufacturing operations to a 638,000-square-foot plant, creating 550 new jobs and enabling the company to better meet the growing demand for solar power.

TVA announced six new Pilot Projects under the second round of funding, four of which are located in Tennessee. One project, “Lighting the Way: Resilient Ripley Microgrid,” led by the National Institute for Hometown Security, is building a resilient microgrid in Ripley to lower the cost of energy for local city facilities and ensure the community has reliable power during emergencies.

EPA recently announced that 103 U.S. manufacturing plants earned the agency’s ENERGY STAR certification in 2023, a designation reserved for manufacturing plants in the top 25% of energy efficiency in their sector. The industrial sector accounts for 30% of U.S. greenhouse emissions, primarily from energy use in manufacturing plants. ENERGY STAR certified plants have reduced their energy use through a variety of energy efficiency projects and management practices.

Tennessee facilities recognized for 2023 and the industries they represent are:

The IRS has released final rules for elective payment, a mechanism made available by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to allow non-profits, state and local governments, rural energy cooperatives, and many other tax-exempt entities to access federal clean energy tax credits. Applicable entities can use direct pay for 12 of the IRA tax credits, including for the generation of clean electricity through solar, wind, and battery storage projects; community solar projects that bring clean energy to neighborhood families; the installation of EV charging infrastructure; and the purchase of clean vehicles for state or city-owned fleets.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently launched a new website that shares its work to implement the Inflation Reduction Act. The new website includes guidance on the law’s tax incentives and provisions, and a taxpayer resource hub that provides tools to assist consumers and other taxpayers in accessing key tax credits. 

Eligible applicants include individuals, nonprofits, local government entities, economic development organizations, educational institutions, and other organizations with a history of successful participatory community-based initiatives. Additional information is available in the official rules document. Applications are due April 12.

The University of Tennessee Research Park is accepting applications to its Spark Cleantech Accelerator. This program supports early stage cleantech businesses to drive commercialization of their technologies in Tennessee and throughout the Midwest and the Southeast. The Spark Cleantech Accelerator program provides mentorship, connections, stipends, prototyping services, and business acceleration services to early-stage cleantech entrepreneurs to help commercialize innovations. The 12-week program will kick off on August 19 and run until mid-November. Applications are due May 15.

The U.S. DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) recently announced $5 million in funding available under the American-Made Upskill Prize for the Solar Manufacturing Workforce to strengthen the U.S. solar manufacturing workforce, bolstering the solar supply chain and creating jobs. Teams of U.S. solar manufacturers and training organizations such as community colleges or unions can propose plans to upskill current employees or attract and train new employees, including through pre-certification programs, specialized equipment training, or recruitment efforts. Winning teams will receive up to $500,000 each. Additional information is available on the HeroX website. Applications are due May 21. 

U.S. DOE recently announced $180 million in funding available through the 2024 Renew America’s Schools Prize for schools engaging in strategic partnerships to build capacity and implement energy upgrades at K-12 schools, lowering energy use and costs and improving indoor air quality. Competitive proposals will implement energy assessments and building improvement projects across a portfolio of 10 or more school facilities, which may be composed of school facilities from one or more districts.

Awards will focus on schools that serve disadvantaged communities, including those with a high percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch, and/or those which qualify as rural. Eligible improvements include HVAC and ventilation systems, building envelope and lighting projects, alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure (including electric vehicles), and renewable energy technologies.

Additional information is available on the Renew America’s Schools page and in the Fact Sheet, and a Teaming List is available on the HeroX Platform. U.S. DOE will host office hours on April 24 at 1 PM Eastern and May 29 at 2 PM Eastern. Applications are due June 13.

The Local Infrastructure Hub (LIH) was launched to ensure that all communities can access federal infrastructure funding to drive local recovery, improve communities, and deliver results for residents. The LIH Regional Cohorts Program is now open to assist local governments and their partners in the Southeast in accessing the historic levels of federal funding available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act. Administered by the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network, the Southeast Regional Cohort Program has three-tiered learning and mentoring tracks.

Cohorts can provide 1:1 local government outreach and technical assistance and can also work with strategic local and regional partners in a way that will build long-term capacity for local implementation. The three support options are:

Applications will be accepted until mid-2024 or until funds are expended, whichever comes first. Additional information, including eligible applicants, is available in the Southeast LIH Regional Cohort Invitation and on the Southeast LIH Regional Cohort website.

EPA announced $2 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act for the Community Change Grants Program. Funding is available for projects that deploy clean energy, reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges. These place-based investments will be focused on community-driven initiatives to be responsive to community and stakeholder input.

There are two separate tracks available: 

Eligible applicants include partnerships between two community-based non-profit organizations and partnerships between a community-based non-profit organization and a local government, institution of higher education, or federally recognized tribe. View the Notice of Funding Opportunity and the Grants.gov page for additional information. Applications are due November 21.

Through the U.S. DOE Clean Energy to Communities (C2C) program, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), other national laboratory experts, and select organizations provide Expert Match - free, short-term technical assistance to address near-term clean energy challenges and questions. Expert Match is most suitable for communities that could benefit from assistance to inform time-sensitive decisions and identify and understand the range of options for achieving clean energy goals. The Expert Match technical assistance timeframe is 40–60 hours over 1–2 months.

Expert support topics available include:

Eligible applicants include community stakeholders and can represent a local government, tribal government, metropolitan planning organization, regional planning organization, community-based organization, nongovernmental organization, utility, or a university.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

The Tennessee Environmental Network Show of the South (TENSOS) will be held May 15-17 at the Chattanooga Convention Center. Over the three-day event, TENSOS will host environmental professionals seeking to exchange knowledge and share ideas about environmental concerns in Tennessee and across the Southeast region. TDEC Commissioner David Salyers will open the event on May 15.

Breakout sessions will cover a wide range of topics and include energy-focused breakout sessions focused on nuclear innovation and investment in Tennessee, as well as the advancement of clean transportation.

The conference schedule is available online, and interested attendees can register here.

The annual PACENation Summit is a global event for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing professionals. PACE is a financing tool that enables low-cost, long-term funding for energy efficiency, renewable energy, water efficiency, resilience, and public health improvements to new and existing buildings.

The 2024 PACENation Summit will be held in Nashville June 12-13 and will include panel sessions, small group interactions, and extensive networking opportunities.

The Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council (TAEBC) will host the Opportunities in Energy event November 19 in Knoxville. The event brings together members and stakeholders to discuss all new and upcoming “opportunities” in the advanced energy sector, including trends, businesses, technologies, and other exciting developments. During the event, a state or local leader will be presented with the annual Thomas B. Ballard Advanced Energy Leadership Award. The award honors exemplary leadership and success in championing, connecting, and strengthening Tennessee’s advanced energy economy. 

TenneSEIA will host the 2024 Tennessee Valley Solar + Storage Conference in Huntsville, AL from November 20-21. The focus of the Conference is to bring together people interested in growing solar business opportunities in the Tennessee Valley to discuss strategies, market trends, and policies that impact the solar industry. Attendees will participate in in-depth and forward-looking discussions on TVA policy and processes and the evolving technical opportunities facing the industry in the Tennessee Valley region.

TVA Connected Communities recently launched the Community Information Hub, a resource that helps communities address a variety of challenges, including energy burdens. The Community Maps feature enables users to benchmark community progress across several different indicators. Users can see how their communities perform against national averages for metrics such as “Pre-1980 housing” and “Energy Burden,” giving a clearer view into a particular community’s challenges. Additionally, the Resources feature includes both programmatic opportunities and data tools to support decision-making, with the ability to filter for opportunities, and includes resources like the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool as well as the Fed Communities Data Tools.

To reduce waste and other environmental impacts from solar technologies, the U.S. DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) funds innovations across the life span of solar modules. By changing how solar panels are designed and manufactured, extending panel life spans and making them easier to repair, and improving recycling processes, SETO is ensuring solar can provide power sustainably. Read SETO’s recent blog post, Beyond Recycling: Reducing Waste from Solar Modules Before They’re Even Made, to learn more.   

Visit the TDEC Office of Energy Programs Website at http://www.tn.gov/environment/energy.

Past Monthly Newsletters: 

February 2024

January 2024

December 2023

For more information or to submit an idea for a future Monthly Energy Edition, contact:

Audrey Jackson, Communications Officer
TDEC Office of Energy Programs
615-917-6683 or audrey.jackson@tn.gov

OR

Alexa Voytek, Deputy Director, OEP Programs
U.S. DOE State Energy Program / Innovation & Transportation / Communications
TDEC Office of Energy Programs
 615-613-1096 or alexa.voytek@tn.gov

OR

Mark Finlay, Senior Energy Analyst, TDEC Office of Energy Programs
615-772-6011 or mark.finlay@tn.gov

Acknowledgement: This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under the State Energy Program Award Number DE-EE0009487

Disclaimer: This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government.  Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.