Thousands of jobs, billions for the economy: Advanced energy in Tennessee

view original post

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — You may not have heard of advanced energy, but this industry is providing over 400,000 jobs — including many in East Tennessee — and added $56 billion to Tennessee’s GDP in 2022, a report finds.

What is the advanced energy industry? It includes “any technology that makes energy cleaner, safer, more secure, or more efficient” including companies involved with “renewable, nuclear, and natural gas electricity generation; distributed generation; advanced manufacturing; lightweight composites for the automotive industry; electric and hybrid vehicles; pollution control technologies; smart grid; and other related technologies,” according to the report. It also includes supporting services.

Neighbor left stunned by explosion that leveled home in Choto community

On Tuesday November 19, the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council (TAEBC) released the fourth edition of the “Tennessee Advanced Energy Economic Impact Report.” The report revealed that the advanced energy industry:

Employs 420,632 Tennesseans, nearly 15% of all jobs in the state
Includes more than 22,500 businesses contributing nearly $56 billion to the Tennessee’s GDP, 11.5% of the total
Pays an average salary of $74,000 per year, 31% higher than the state’s average
Is growing faster than the state’s overall economy

Most of the industry is concentrated in Tennessee’s metropolitan areas. The industry’s annual payroll spending was about $31.1 billion, and the number of jobs it’s creating just keeps growing.

According to the report, “Total AE employment has grown by 6.8 percent since 2019, higher than growth in overall jobs across all sectors in the state over the same time period. Growth in the number of AE business establishments since 2019 was 10.9 percent — almost twice the growth in total business establishments in the state.”

Lenoir City woman charged $9,000 for work that looks ‘like a five year old’ did it

Many of these jobs are local to East Tennessee. Recently, a company announced plans to build a new multi-billion-dollar uranium enrichment facility in Oak Ridge that is expected to create more than 300 jobs. Additionally, a different company reported that it was investing $60 million to resume manufacturing centrifuges for uranium enrichment in their Oak Ridge factory.

In the former Bull Run Fossil Plant in Knoxville, one company plans to work on fusion energy which would be an incredible breakthrough if successful. Maryville is also going to get new solar power plants, and L&N Stem Academy in Knoxville even launched a nuclear energy class.

“From Former Governor and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander’s recruitment of automotive OEM’s like Nissan in the 1980s, to Silicon Ranch becoming one of the largest independent solar power producers in the world, to our current dominance in elective vehicles, batteries, and advanced nuclear technology, Tennessee’s leaders and our world-class research institutions and manufacturing facilities have positioned us to become the number one location in the Southeast for energy innovation and high-quality jobs.”

Cortney Piper, Executive Director of TAEBC

Construction of next-gen nuclear reactor ‘Hermes’ begins in Oak Ridge

The report also explains advanced energy’s contribution to taxes: “AE state sales tax revenue totaled $1.5 billion and AE local sales tax revenue totaled $461.6 million in 2022, which is a 12.7 percent and 17.1 percent increase since 2019, respectively.”

TAEBC, who compiled the report, is an organization that “champions advanced energy as an economic development and job creation strategy.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side.