In the world of nuclear energy, no name is so storied as Oak Ridge, particularly to the companies and partners now making the city a center of what many have called a coming “nuclear renaissance.”
Now, in the literal footprint and the proverbial shadow of the Manhattan Project, new nuclear companies hoping to accelerate the national transition to clean energy are coming to Oak Ridge and nearby Knoxville.
Created in 1942 as the first production site of the Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge was the birthplace of the world’s first continuously operating nuclear reactor and the Nuclear Navy, whose reactors are still fueled by Y-12 National Security Complex. Oak Ridge National Laboratory has built and operated 13 nuclear reactors that powered discoveries across its 80-year history, and one still operates today.
The phrase “nuclear renaissance” suggests a rebirth, and nuclear energy could be headed for a comeback as worries about carbon emissions and a dying coal sector spur historic federal investments in clean energy and the nation’s electric grid faces mounting pressures from electric cars and artificial intelligence.
Nuclear has been feared and rejected in many quarters owing to disasters like those at Chernobyl in 1986 or Fukushima in 2011, which led several nations, most notably Germany, to phase out their nuclear power plants. Still, nuclear remains one of the safest and cleanest sources of power.
The United States is accelerating its move to nuclear as President Biden makes new nuclear power generation a key to his goal of a carbon-free U.S. power grid by 2035 and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. Most Americans, about 57%, support building more nuclear power plants to generate electricity, up from just 43% in 2020, according to Pew Research Center.
The U.S. is in a position to triple its nuclear energy output by 2050, from 100 gigawatts to 300 gigawatts, enough to power more than 200 million homes, according to a report from the Department of Energy in March. The growth would be driven by advanced nuclear technology such as small modular reactors so long as they are proven to be affordable enough to attract utility companies and private investors.
Work on advanced nuclear technology is accelerating in Knoxville and Oak Ridge, where partners like ORNL and the Tennessee Valley Authority are attracting private nuclear companies.
“We as a country sort of stepped away from nuclear for a period of time and so when people talk about the nuclear renaissance, I think they’re referring to the hope that nuclear power generation will once again become an asset that more utilities are prepared to invest in,” Jeff Smith, retired interim director and chief operations officer at ORNL, told Knox News.
Smith sits on the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Advisory Council, created by Gov. Bill Lee in May alongside a $50 million nuclear fund to make the state a national name in the clean energy transition.
Lee didn’t make the announcement just anywhere or with any crowd. He signed the executive order at the Zeanah Engineering Complex, the sleek home of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville’s highly ranked nuclear engineering department, surrounded by Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon, UT System President Randy Boyd and TVA chief operating officer Don Moul.
The small ceremony was a clear signal that Tennessee’s road to the nuclear renaissance runs through Knoxville and Oak Ridge, which together are home to more than two-thirds of all nuclear companies in the state.
Dozens of nuclear partners in East Tennessee
A tight cluster of national nuclear leaders sets the Knoxville region apart. Within a 50-mile radius of UT sit about 150 nuclear companies, and the UT campus is only 30 miles from ORNL, the largest science and technology national lab. The frequent collaborators are powered by TVA, which leans on its nuclear fleet for 42% of its electricity generation. The region’s mission is further diversified by Y-12’s national security focus.
“East Tennessee is poised to be the Florence of the ‘nuclear Renaissance.’ The time is now. The place is here,” Tracy Boatner, president of the East Tennessee Economic Council, told Knox News. “Combine these assets with a pro-nuclear community and state that is investing significantly in attracting nuclear industry and you have the optimum environment for growth and innovation.”
At its annual nuclear conference in August, the council unveiled a 20-foot-long visual aid that maps out critical nuclear organizations and workforce needs in a complex web across Tennessee. The title of the graphic, “Nuclear is Here,” suggests that a new kind of nuclear energy has arrived and is welcome in the Volunteer State.
Boatner led a Knoxville application for the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program, called Tech Hubs, a…