From nuclear power to the power of collaboration, the Tennessee Valley Authority leads by example.
Nuclear energy is back. The more than 10 million people in seven states served by the Tennessee Valley Authority know this better than most.
Start in the public power provider’s namesake state, home to 229 nuclear-related companies, 154 of which are located in the Oak Ridge-Knoxville region. Those companies are part of a $56 billion advanced energy sector that the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council says employs more than 42,000 Tennesseans.
Talk to the target market specialists on TVA’s economic development team and they’ll tell you that’s only the beginning of the opportunity ahead.
“TVA Economic Development evaluates our target markets every three years to make sure we are aligned with our region’s assets, workforce and leadership to create new economic opportunities in the Valley,” says Adam Murray, TVA’s target market specialists manager. “The energy sector was added as one of those targets in 2022. In the last three years, TVA has seen a large increase in the number of nuclear-related projects considering the Valley. A lot of those projects have been focused in the Oak Ridge area, but as we recruit nuclear projects further along the nuclear supply chain, we are seeing growing interest in other parts of the TVA region.”
“When the energy sector was identified as a target market, we knew that with available sites, existing workforce and the TVA region’s energy IQ in the sector, our territory would be competitive in this area,” says Meryl Harris, the target market specialist hired in 2022 to oversee efforts in the sector. “Tennessee’s leadership in the nuclear space has been integral to the nuclear wins in East Tennessee and we have seen significant growth in building out the nuclear supply chain related to SMR manufacturing, fusion pilot plants and enrichment of nuclear fuel.”
Growth opportunities extend to all parts of TVA’s region and all facets of the energy sector. But with the May 20 submittal to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the nation’s first construction permit application for a GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy BWRX-300 small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) at its Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, TVA’s leadership in nuclear power is front and center.
A Talk with Two Chiefs
That focus is also evident across the 38-year career of Don Moul, appointed president and CEO of TVA in April 2025 by the TVA board of directors. A former senior reactor operator at a number of nuclear stations and the former chief nuclear officer at NextEra Energy, Moul most recently served as TVA’s executive vice president and COO. In addition to leading efforts to modernize TVA’s system, build new power generation assets and drive advanced nuclear technologies, he also has overseen mission-critical areas of TVA’s business such as the 49-dam, integrated river system and efforts to protect the region’s natural resources, including 293,000 acres of public land and 11,000 miles of shoreline.
Here Moul speaks to the opportunities and challenges ahead, and how community engagement and collaboration are as central to power provision as they are to the economic development that power enables. He was joined by TVA Senior Vice President of Economic Development John Bradley, leader of a team that perennially earns Site Selection’s Top Utilities in Economic Development honors.
You know the operational side of the TVA fleet and network of power and water systems better than anyone. What are those systems’ most under-appreciated aspects when it comes to competitive power, economic development and quality of life?
Don Moul: One of the things I’ve learned through my career is how valuable a diverse generating fleet is. We have one of the largest, most reliable systems out there. We are the third largest generator of electricity in the country, with more than 16,000 miles of transmission lines. That diverse portfolio strengthens that system. When I think about some of the foundational assets, I start with hydro — that was the foundation of TVA from the very beginning. It makes up about 10% of our portfolio and nuclear makes up about 40%. Those are some of the most reliable, dispatchable, high-quality and cost-effective assets out there. We complement that with the coal and gas fleet that makes up another 40 to 45% of the portfolio. Then 4% of the remainder are the renewables that are on the system. What that does for us is it gives us that solid, foundational baseload generation. It helps us keep our industrial rates low. That’s a huge competitive advantage to our region and helps meet part of our mission, which is economic development.
John Bradley: We are self-regulated. That does make a difference to the companies we are recruiting. They see that as an advantage because it’s really like a self-secured system.
Moul: How we operate the system is really guided by the least-cost planning principles outlined in the TVA Act [of 1933]. While we don’t have a PUC or public service commission we have to work through, we still have the right kind of customer-focused guidance. Part of our mission is affordable energy, then environmental stewardship and economic development. We call them “the three Es.”
Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant near Chattanooga, TVA’s largest hydroelectric facility, pumps water from Nickajack Reservoir when demand for power is low, then releases it during periods of high demand, generating up to 1,600 megawatts.
How does your deep background in nuclear power inform your perspective on leading TVA and its economic development programs?
Moul: Growing up as a nuclear engineer by degree but also a licensed operator, you are really trained in a culture of continuous improvement. It’s just part of your fabric. We also focus a lot on situational awareness — seeing what’s around us and being able to be agile to check and adjust. That’s critical in a rapidly changing environment. I don’t think I’ve seen an environment changing as rapidly as the markets right now. Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing — all of those things are really changing the landscape. So, building that culture of continuous improvement, having that mindset all of my training and decades of experience have given me, helps me guide the TVA organization and great leaders like John and my direct report teams to be able to be as responsive and rapidly changing as the environment around us.
You serve on the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Advisory Council. Would other states also be wise to create nuclear power-related incentives as Tennessee has done with its Nuclear Energy Fund?
Moul: Governor [Bill] Lee was really forward-thinking in forming the advisory council and backing it up with the Nuclear Energy Fund. It’s so critical. It puts tools in the toolbox for economic development for the state. And you can see it’s paid dividends with some of the largest developments in that nuclear ecosystem coming to the Tennessee Valley region. I can’t speak for other states, but it shows a success path that certainly could be replicated. Tennessee is leading the nation thanks to what Gov. Lee has done.
“We believe deploying new nuclear is essential to providing American families and businesses affordable and abundant electricity for decades to come.”
— Don Moul, President and CEO, Tennessee Valley Authority
The Clinch River project is very exciting and we’re ahead of most folks in the nation with our processes and where we are with the construction permit application being submitted to the NRC. But my focus on that advisory council was to also make sure we thought beyond just one project. There was a focus on supply chain and workforce development that is so critical for driving the economy of the Tennessee Valley region and the State of Tennessee. The state took those recommendations and really ran with them.
We have closely followed the growing potential of SMRs to be part of the solution to satisfy demand from the power-hungry data center sector. What are your thoughts about the proliferation of data centers and the solutions needed to keep up with demand?
Moul: A consistent challenge and question I get as the new CEO at TVA is “Hey, what can we do to get more power and what can we do to get it faster?” Some of it is the rise of big tech in the 2000s and 2010s. The Tennessee Valley region, because of abundant energy generation and affordable land, was very attractive because we were long on generation. So data centers and other companies with substantial and unique energy requirements were finding the Valley to be very attractive. But we’re not in the same position as we were in 2011 when manufacturing rates were available to the data centers. With all of these large new loads, we’re going to have to consider not only building additional generation but also transmission to help deliver and serve that load.
It’s an especially tricky consideration given that customers like data centers can scale up their load much faster than TVA, or anyone else in the nation for that matter, can build to serve it. This puts pressure on rates and different risks for all of our customers and rate payers. We had direction from our board of directors several months ago, and TVA is now in the process of exploring ways to provide a more fair treatment to all rate-paying customers by possibly removing the manufacturing rate eligibility for some of the data centers and by defining a commercial policy that allows TVA to develop customized pricing products for some of these new and existing large, unique customer loads. We’re going to explore all of these in partnership with the local power companies and direct-serve customers and the impacted customers to make sure we have appropriate treatment among all the rate payers.
John can back this up: What used to be an incredibly large load — say 10 megawatts coming in — that was a banner day about five years ago. Now it’s coming in hundreds to a thousand megawatts at a clip because of the insatiable demand of some of these data centers and what they’re going to need. So we’re trying to find ways to be very creative and work with them, get them off the peaks and make sure we have the right rate structure that has the proper incentives and meets that least-cost planning criteria for all of our customers, so we don’t have customers on the retail side subsidizing these large data centers.
Bradley: Think about this: We’re roughly a 34,000-megawatt system. Right now we’ve got 11,000 megawatts of request with AI, data centers and crypto alone. That’s why it’s going to take different solutions to be able to serve these types of loads. We’ve never seen that many megawatts as request in our system. It is unprecedented. When Don talks about major loads … some of these loads coming in could take up a nuclear plant themselves.
This is not unique to TVA, it’s something everyone is experiencing across the United States. This is the most dynamic I’ve ever seen the utility industry in my career, but it’s also the most disruptive. It’s going to take some creativity from utilities and the people we’re supplying energy to to work together in true partnerships.
Moul: One example is xAI coming into West Tennessee. They have been incredible partners to work with and a very difficult ask: 150 megawatts of load. For all the new loads, we have to really carefully review the details of each proposal and its associated demand on our system. It’s not just like putting a plug into the wall. These discussions include: Can you maximize your demand-response opportunities? That provides flexibility when we hit peak demands. Late last year, our board approved the request to add 150 megawatts to our system. Even though they’re a direct customer of MLGW [Memphis Light, Gas & Water], we have to study the sizable loads coming on our system. They publicly announced their intent to continue to invest in their facility in Shelby County. As such, they’re asking TVA and MLGW to prepare the studies for some of the additional energy and capacity for their project in the future. So we’re going to continue to work with our customer MLGW and xAI to make sure we can address the needs for the project.
We’ve also been at the table with xAI on a recycled water facility in Memphis. This not only helps us to decrease our need to buy water from MLGW for our combined cycle gas plant that’s right by there, the Allen Plant, but it also helps to take load off the water system for the Greater Memphis area and really helps to recycle that water so it can be used for cooling purposes and saves the potable water for the citizens in the area. It’s a partnership opportunity … It helps to meet their needs and it also helps the region.
As we work to continue meeting the load growth we’re seeing in this area, it’s important we recognize that everything we do we do in partnership, whether it’s working together with state and local partners, customers, economic developers and community leaders to help serve the region or whether it’s working together with those customers on taking themselves off the peak and being part of our demand-response program and really helping us solve the problem and shorten their timeline to connection.
In the end, we are all stronger if we work together on this. For customers coming into the area, if they have a desire to move to the Tennessee Valley, it’s worth their time to speak with John and his team and really understand what those opportunities are.
Where do you see the need to go next with TVA workforce, site and community programs to help boost regional prosperity?
Moul: We’ve had some great success with megasites in the past. The Golden Triangle in Mississippi is a perfect example of the impact megasites can have in some of the smaller, rural communities. We recently joined the Link team in Lowndes County to celebrate their fifth megasite. Continuing down the path of TVA certified megasites is something we’ll continue to work on. Invest Prep is also an integral part of our mission to promote economic development in the TVA service area. TVA provides financial assistance to help bring to the market new and improved sites and facilities within our service area. It really helps position some of those communities to compete successfully for new jobs and capital investment.
John Bradley, Senior Vice President,
TVA Economic Development
Bradley: It always starts with the site. Then our approach to workforce development was not a standardized approach. It has always been “Let’s go to the community and let them tell us what they need.” We will work with them. We will match funding. They’re building their own workforce development programs. Workforce is local. We wanted that input. It’s helped us build that program off of their ideas. We’ve been able to leverage what the states are doing and what some of the local communities are doing and all of a sudden, put funding together and we’re talking about some real money where you can actually move the needle.
We’re seeing some really cool ideas come out of these communities because they know their workforce better than anybody. It’s kind of a novel idea: “Hey, let’s see what the people need and then build something around it.”
On the operations side, Don would tell you, 95% of the work is way before you hit a switch on a plant. There’s a direct correlation to that in economic development: Ninety-five percent of the work is in the preparation — getting ready and getting prepared so when that deal does come, you’re ready. We spend a lot of time and effort on that area to make sure we’re positioning ourselves to be the most successful for our communities we serve. It’s refreshing having someone like Don in there who understands preparation is everything.
This Investment Profile was prepared under the auspices of TVA. For more information, visit www.tva.com/economic-development.
