Governor Lee recently announced that the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Advisory Council (TNEAC) delivered its final report to guide the state in advancing nuclear energy innovation and driving continued investment to create a nuclear energy ecosystem that continues to lead the nation. The Council’s report includes 19 recommendations in five key areas that reinforce Tennessee’s leading position in the nuclear industry and will enable deployment of critical baseload energy and support for a vibrant nuclear ecosystem that is key to the state’s overall economy. Governor Lee established TNEAC through Executive Order 101 in May 2023. The council consisted of 22 members from industry, higher education, workforce development, and government, and was led by Chairman David W. Salyers, TDEC Commissioner. View the final report and recommendations here.

U.S. DOE recently announced awards for the second round of its State Manufacturing Leadership Program. TDEC was awarded $1.7 million for the Tennessee Partnership for Smart Manufacturing (TPSM), a coalition of partners that will work together to extensively deliver smart manufacturing and high-performance computing (HPC) awareness, , education, training, assessments, roadmapping, assistance in implementation and operations, and continuous improvement tailored to the needs of small- and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) across Tennessee. The goal of TPSM is to assist Tennessee SMMs with implementing smart manufacturing and use of high-performance computing to optimize production, reduce costs, and reduce energy consumption and emissions, while training the existing SMM workforce and next generation of SMM workers on these technologies.

The Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council released its 2024 Tennessee Advanced Energy Economic Impact Report. Updated with new stats since the most recent 2021 report, this new report quantifies Tennessee’s advanced energy economic impact and identifies the number of jobs, contribution to state GDP and state/local taxes, and number of companies associated with the state’s advanced energy sector. The report notes that advanced energy employment has grown by 6.8%, which is higher than the 4.5% growth in overall jobs across all sectors over the same period of time. Additionally, the report notes that advanced energy jobs account for 14.8% of all jobs in the state and that advanced energy generated $55.9 billion in state GDP.

TDEC’s Office of Outdoor Recreation and the Tennessee Blueways Initiative are working on a Strategic Master Plan to enhance waterways, boost recreation opportunities, and support river conservation efforts. The Tennessee Blueways Strategic Plan survey aims to gather input from community members and outdoor enthusiasts to help shape the future of the state’s recreational waterways. Survey feedback will play a key role in balancing environmental preservation, recreation, and accessibility to Tennessee’s Rivers. Complete the survey here.

U.S. DOE announced the Clean Energy Careers for All program, which will award nearly $3 million to non-profit science, technology, engineering, and math organizations to support workforce development initiatives. The opportunity is aimed at funding new programs or the expansion of existing programs that will provide future growth of the clean energy workforce sector. Eligible entities include non-profit 501(c)(3) or non-lobbying 501(c)(6) educational organizations, including engineering, scientific, and technical societies, that can reach across various levels of future workforce populations. Additional information and a teaming list are available on the Clean Energy Careers for All webpage. Applications are due December 14.

U.S. DOE recently announced $3.3 million in funding under the Good Jobs in Clean Energy Prize. Up to 15 Phase One awardees will receive $50,000 for demonstrating robust partnerships focused on a specific clean energy employment opportunity and will be eligible to participate in Phase Two of the prize. In Phase Two, up to 10 teams will each win $100,000 for developing and implementing their Coalition Action Plans that demonstrate how the coalition will advance job quality and job access in the clean energy opportunities within their community. In Phase Three, the top three performing coalitions will receive $200,000 to $300,000 for the strength of their impact in implementing their Action Plans, and up to seven runner-up coalitions will receive $125,000.

Eligible coalitions must include, at a minimum, one representative from each of the following stakeholder groups: labor organizations, clean energy employers, community-based organizations, public agencies, and education and workforce providers. Teaming lists are available here, and applications are due January 31, 2025.

The U.S. DOE Industrial Training & Assessment Centers (ITAC) Program has re-opened applications for small and medium-sized manufacturing (SMM) firms to receive grants of up to $300,000 per unique assessment recommendation from ITAC assessments. These grants will support projects to improve energy and material efficiency, increase productivity, and reduce emissions at SMMs. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. U.S. DOE will hold an informational webinar on December 12 at 2:00 PM Eastern.

The State Funding Readiness Project (SFRP) provides no-cost technical assistance to jurisdictions, including local governments, for preparing and applying for funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. SFRP can help jurisdictions identify specific investment opportunities, conduct a stakeholder mapping exercise, inform budget planning, meet Justice40 requirements, develop competitive grant applications, and strengthen linkages with administering agencies. They have supported forty projects in twenty-five jurisdictions thus far, securing over $1.5 billion in federal funding. SFRP has an open, rolling intake process and considers jurisdiction requests at any time. Learn more on the SFRP website.

The U.S. DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office will host the webinar Stakeholder Webinar: Consumer Protections in the Solar Industry — Best Practices and Expert Perspectives on December 3 at 2:00 PM Eastern. The webinar will share research and development efforts to improve the customer experience, discuss what kinds of problems consumers are facing, steps the government is taking to deter deceptive business practices, and how the industry is developing standards that can protect consumers from harm.

Energy Star will host a webinar on how it intends to work with the Energy Skilled initiative, a new program from U.S. DOE, on December 4 at 10:00 AM Central. U.S. DOE created the Energy Skilled initiative to promote the importance of the right workforce skills for optimized performance in heat pump systems. Training and certification programs recognized by U.S. DOE as Energy Skilled prepare workers to meet the demand for next-generation home equipment. Energy Star plans to leverage this initiative by highlighting contractors and organizations that have completed training recognized as Energy Skilled through the development and refinement of a heat pump and heat pump water heater installer finder. Register for the webinar here.

U.S. DOE recently released a new Tax Credit Product Lookup Tool to help households and home energy efficiency contractors understand how to qualify for the IRS Energy Efficient Home Improvement tax credit. Improving home energy efficiency and upgrading equipment can save homeowners money on utility bills and improve home resilience. Additional tools recently released by U.S. DOE include a home insulation explainer that walks contractors and homeowners through the key elements of home insulation and air-sealing products that can lower utility bills and qualify for tax credits. DOE also recently released a new contractor training module that provides detailed introductory information on how contractors can leverage residential energy efficiency incentives, including those available from federal, state, local, and utility-run programs. 

The Clean Energy Business Network recently released the State of Clean Energy 2024 report, which includes interactive infographics that document the clean energy economies across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As noted in the Tennessee fact sheet, Tennessee ranks 13th for clean energy jobs in the U.S., with a 6.3% growth between 2022 and 2023, beating the national average of 4.2%.

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

Past Monthly Newsletters: 

October 2024

September 2024

August 2024

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 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.