Governor Bill Lee signed a bill last week that gives tax benefits to nuclear energy companies.
House Bill (HB) 1133 amends the state tax code to make nuclear energy production facilities (NEPF) eligible for the same type of tax benefits as wind source companies.
Additionally, HB 1133 allows NEPFs to be exempt from sales and use taxes imposed on uranium enrichment services. This will enable these facilities to reduce the costs of doing business in the state.
NEPFs will be able to utilize tax exemptions on services that involve enriching, deconverting, and converting uranium.
These sales tax exemptions will also apply to anyone who owns the uranium, whether that be the customer or the equipment owner.
HB 1133 goes into effect on July 1. State Representative Clark Boyd (R-Lebanon) introduced this piece of legislation.
In 2023, Lee created the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Advisory Council by executive order. He started this council to help position the Volunteer State as a leader in nuclear energy.
The council issued a report in October 2024 detailing how Tennessee could accelerate its nuclear production capabilities. One of these recommendations mentioned in the report was providing tax benefits to nuclear companies.
“Tennessee is rapidly becoming the epicenter of new nuclear and leading America’s energy independence,” said Lee. “Generating reliable, resilient, safe, clean nuclear energy is necessary to meet increasing power needs while promoting economic growth and prosperity across Tennessee, and this report will guide our efforts to effectively address growing power demand over the next 25 years.”
A month before the council issued this report, Orano USA selected Oak Ridge as the site for a new multibillion-dollar uranium enrichment facility.
The new facility will be 750,000 square feet, making it one of the largest nuclear enrichment plants in North America.
Over 300 jobs are expected to be created as a result of this new facility.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at [email protected].
