Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

The Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council (TAEBC) “Opportunities in Energy” event successfully gathered some of the top decision-makers in government, private, and public advanced energy sectors. To kick off the all-day event, the TAEBC welcomed Marianne Wanamaker, the Dean of the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs to the stage to moderate a panel with three of the top energy leaders in Tennessee.

Jeff Lyash, the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Jean- Luc Palayer, the CEO and President of Orano USA, and Matt Kisber, the Co-Founder and CEO of Silicon Ranch Corporation sat on the highly-esteemed panel to answer questions about the state of advanced energy – both locally and nationally.

First, Lyash motioned to Palayer, welcoming him and Orano USA to East Tennessee. In September, the company selected Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as the preferred site to construct a new, multi-billion-dollar, state-of-the-art centrifuge uranium enrichment facility. The uranium enrichment center will be a multi-structure commercial production site covering approximately 750,000 square feet, making it one of the largest in North America. Facility operations will create more than 300 new direct jobs in Roane County.

It was the single largest corporate economic development investment in Tennessee’s history.

“Orano is a great company to have in the neighborhood. Jean-Luc has been a long-time friend, and we are lucky to have them,” Lyash said. “I don’t think there’s another state in the nation that has positioned themselves better than Tennessee. The question now is – how effectively can we leverage our assets?”

Palayer selected Oak Ridge due to the abundance of industry partnerships, talent pipeline with the university nearby, and state incentives.

One of the questions for the panel was how the new federal administration will impact the progress with clean energy.

Lyash offered a candid response – “I have no idea, but I do know that the importance and momentum behind these projects transcend whoever is in office. Going forward, it may alter the cost structure, it may accelerate or decelerate some aspects of business, but it doesn’t change out north star.”

The panel implied that federal policy may play a role in which projects get priority, but the corporate, commercial, and private sector ultimately dirve the demand.

Currently, about 40 percent of the energy TVA generates is form nuclear sources; however, to keep up with that, officials need to continue investing and building new nuclear sites. All three of the panelists agreed that establishing and maintaining these lucrative energy sources is going to be the key moving forward.

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