by Michael P. Davidson
America’s future will require a lot more energy. The question is whether we produce it here, responsibly and reliably, or become increasingly dependent on others to power our economy.
Tennessee has an opportunity to help answer that question.
The state is one of several being considered for a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus, or NLIC, that could bring nuclear fuel production, advanced reactors, power generation, recycling and waste disposal together in one place. For Tennessee, that could mean billions of dollars in investment and thousands of skilled jobs. For the country, it represents something larger: a chance to strengthen one of the most important pieces of a diversified American energy strategy.
I believe we should pursue both economic growth and environmental stewardship. Too often, we talk about those goals as if we have to choose between them. Innovation gives us a chance to do both.
Nuclear energy is a good example.
It produces enormous amounts of reliable power while using relatively little land and producing no carbon emissions during operation. As electricity demand grows, utilities consider new reactors and technology companies search for reliable power for data centers, nuclear can complement natural gas, renewables and other domestic energy sources in a more resilient American energy portfolio.
But if we are serious about nuclear, we also need to be serious about the entire nuclear lifecycle.
The federal government has struggled with that responsibility for decades. Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, the Department of Energy was supposed to begin accepting spent commercial nuclear fuel in 1998. Utilities and their customers paid into a federal fund for that purpose.
Nearly three decades later, the country still lacks a permanent solution. Billions have been spent on an unfinished repository, utilities have successfully sued over storage costs, and taxpayers face tens of billions of dollars in estimated liability. Meanwhile, spent fuel remains safely stored at nuclear facilities around the country.
The NLIC concept offers a potentially high-leverage solution because it approaches these challenges as a connected system rather than separate problems.
Spent nuclear fuel still contains tremendous energy potential. More than 90 percent of its potential energy remains after it leaves a reactor, and some can be recovered and made into new fuel. Idaho National Laboratory researchers estimate that advanced recycling and fast reactors could extract enough energy from America’s existing stockpile to power the country for roughly a century at current demand. ARPA-E estimates that separating and recycling key materials could reduce the period required for remaining waste to return to the radiotoxicity of natural uranium ore from roughly 100,000 years to around 300.
That is environmental stewardship in a practical sense: use resources more completely, responsibly manage what remains, and leave future generations with a better system than the one we inherited.
It is also an issue of American competitiveness and security. Domestic recycling and fuel capabilities could reduce reliance on foreign nuclear supply chains, including Russia. And abundant, reliable energy will increasingly matter to everything from advanced manufacturing to artificial intelligence and national security.
Tennessee is particularly well positioned to help.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has spent decades advancing nuclear science. Y-12 remains central to America’s nuclear-security infrastructure. The Tennessee Valley Authority is pursuing small modular reactor technology at Clinch River. More than 230 nuclear-lifecycle companies already operate in the Oak Ridge-Knoxville corridor.
In other words, much of the talent, infrastructure and institutional knowledge required to lead already exists here.
The potential economic benefits are substantial. The Department of Energy estimates a campus could attract up to $50 billion in private investment, create nearly 25,000 jobs and generate as much as $10 billion in state and local tax revenue.
Of course, a project of this scale deserves scrutiny, particularly around safety, permanent disposal, infrastructure and the interests of surrounding communities. Tennessee has only agreed to continue exploring the concept, and that is exactly what it should do: ask hard questions and insist upon the protections and local involvement necessary to get it right.
But we should also recognize the size of the opportunity.
Energy abundance, environmental stewardship, national security and economic competitiveness do not have to be competing objectives. With the right technology and leadership, they can reinforce one another.
Tennessee has an opportunity to show what that looks like — and help power America’s next energy era.
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Michael P. Davidson is the founder of Eagle Society, a nonprofit impact accelerator that brings leaders closer to consequential challenges and helps turn insight, relationships, and resources into lasting impact.
