TDEC will celebrate the 40th year of the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards in 2026 and invites Tennesseans to submit nominations for the upcoming honors. The awards recognize individuals, businesses, and other organizations for their commitment to preserving the state’s natural resources. The honors include 10 categories: Agriculture and Forestry; Building Green; Clean Air and Transportation Solutions; Energy and Renewable Resources; Environmental Education and Outreach; Materials Management; Natural Resources; Sustainable Performance; Water Quality; and Lifetime Achievement.

Any individual, business, organization, educational institution, or agency is eligible to be nominated, provided it is in Tennessee, and the project was fully implemented and/or finalized in the two years prior to December 31, 2025. Nominations can also be for long-term projects finalized by the year prior to the nomination deadline. All nominees must have a minimum of three consecutive years of overall environmental compliance with TDEC. Self-nominations are encouraged. Nominations are due March 13.

TN Clean Fuels recently released a video overviewing the progress TN Clean Fuels and its many fleet and industry partners made to advance alternative fuels across Tennessee in 2025. Highlighted activities include: 

Last month, members of TDEC OEP attended the 2025 Eastern EV Charging Infrastructure Regional Meeting, co-hosted by the National Association of State Energy Officials and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, in Washington, D.C. The event convened State Energy Offices, State Departments of Transportation, and various key stakeholders to exchange ideas and enhance planning efforts for EV charging infrastructure. During the meeting, representatives from Eastern U.S. states presented updates on their National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure programs, Charging and Fueling Infrastructure awards, Volkswagen Diesel Environmental Mitigation Trust program funding, and additional state- and federally-funded initiatives related to EV charging solutions. Attendees also had the opportunity to engage in discussions with utility companies, gaining a deeper understanding of regional grid challenges and strategies for improved coordination in site selection, load requests, and the energization process for EV charging infrastructure.

Image courtesy of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

Deputy Governor and Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, Stuart C. McWhorter, and members of the Tennessee General Assembly spent time in West Tennessee in December visiting Ford Motor Company's operations at BlueOval City and the Stanton Extension Campus of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Jackson. BlueOval City continues to take shape on the Memphis Regional Megasite in Haywood County, creating a long-term investment that will impact the region. TCAT at Stanton was built to directly support BlueOval City, and the campus is already training students for high-quality careers.

The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry will host the Workforce Development Conference on January 26 in Nashville. The event will discuss industry workforce updates from higher education, K-12, and the Tennessee Department of Labor. Additionally, the conference will offer insights into how Tennessee companies are working to improve and plan ahead for their workforce needs.

The Southeast Hydrogen Energy Alliance will host multiple webinars on hydrogen production and its applications in transportation in early 2026. 

The 19th annual International Biomass Conference & Expo will be held in Nashville from March 31 - April 2. The event unites industry professionals from all sectors of the world’s interconnected biomass utilization industries: biobased power, thermal energy, fuels, and chemicals.

Organized by BBI International and produced by Biomass Magazine, this event brings current and future producers of bioenergy and biobased products together with waste generators, energy crop growers, municipal leaders, utility executives, technology providers, equipment manufacturers, project developers, investors, and policy makers. 

The Tennessee Smart Mobility Expo is a celebration of the latest transportation technologies, innovations, and research that make Tennessee an emerging leader in mobility solutions. The 2026 Expo will take place on May 12 at GEODIS Park in Nashville. The Expo is attended by leaders from vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, Tennessee-based research institutions and universities, fleet operators, utilities, municipalities, state agencies, and the advanced transportation ecosystem, fostering valuable connections. With thought-provoking sessions, tech demonstrations, and networking, the expo celebrates the state’s position in automotive manufacturing and as a generator of smart mobility solutions. Registration and a detailed agenda will be released in the coming months.

The U.S. DOE’s Industrial Technology Validation (ITV) program is offering awards up to $400,000 to support real-world testing and validation of emerging technologies. The ITV program pairs industrial sites with technology developers to evaluate novel industrial technologies designed to reduce energy and water use, reduce costs, increase reliability, and improve competitiveness. Technology developers provide the equipment or technology to be validated, and host sites provide the facility where the installation will occur, manage the installation, and provide performance data from both the existing baseline system and the newly installed technology.

Technology developers and industrial host sites must apply jointly. Interested entities may apply to the Teaming Partner list here. The current Teaming Partner List can be viewed here with the password ITVTEAM. Applications are due January 29.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has opened the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program to provide grants for surface transportation infrastructure projects with significant local or regional impact. The program supports multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional projects that are more difficult to fund through other grant programs.

Eligible applicants include states and the District of Columbia; any territory or possession of the U.S.; units of local government; public agencies or publicly chartered authorities established by one or more states;  special purpose districts or public authorities with a transportation function, including a port authority; federally recognized Indian Tribes or a consortium of such Indian Tribes; transit agencies; multi-state or multijurisdictional group of entities that are separately eligible.

Additional information, including a list of eligible project types, is available in the NOFO. Applications are due February 24.

The Spark Mobility Lab, a partnership between the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council (TAEBC) and Launch Tennessee, is a program of the Spark Innovation Center, which also runs the Spark Cleantech Accelerator and provides lab space through the Incubator program at the UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm. The Spark Mobility Lab aims to equip early-stage mobility founders with the technical and economic tools they need to scale by combining Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) training with direct industry engagement and investor readiness support.

Applications for the Mobility Lab are open through February 28. The week of programming will take place April 20-24.

Proposals for the 2026 Community Grants program are now open for local bicycle clubs, community bicycle programs, and other not-for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Eligible entities are encouraged to submit proposals for projects that promote bicycling as a safe and healthy form of recreation and transportation. Projects originating at the grassroots community level have the highest probability of funding. Applications are due March 25.

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced the launch of the Innovation & Research for Industry Success (IRIS) Grant Program, which aims to enhance and facilitate partnerships between private industry and the state’s leading research institutions. The grant program will encourage companies to pilot innovative technologies and pursue new discoveries within the state, which, in turn, will facilitate collaborations that highlight the strength of Tennessee’s research capabilities and foster long-term corporate investment in the state’s innovation ecosystem.

Applications for the inaugural round of IRIS funding are open and will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Launch Tennessee, a hub for startups and innovation, and Halo, a global network and platform, have partnered to create the Tennessee Innovation Exchange (TNIX), a unified digital hub that connects researchers, university expertise, and industry partners across the state to strengthen commercialization and accelerate innovation. Through TNIX, researchers from participating universities will have public profiles showcasing their expertise, research assets, and innovation areas. LaunchTN and participating institutions can also post partnering requests and funding calls to accelerate commercialization. The six founding institutions are: University of Memphis, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee Technological University, Meharry Medical College, East Tennessee State University, and Tennessee State University.

ElectricForAll offers resources to educate the public regarding EV technology. The organization provides a wide variety of informational resources and search tools, including EV facts, home EV charging, frequently asked questions about incentives, and a search for used EVs. Visit their webpage, The Way Forward is Electric, to learn more.

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

Past Monthly Newsletters: 

December 2025

November 2025

October 2025

For more information or to submit an idea for a future Monthly Transportation 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 State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) under the State Energy Program Award Number DE-SE0001095.

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.