Energizing Tennessee
Energizing Tennessee, powered by the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council, explores the latest news and insights about the advanced energy sector. Join us to hear from advanced energy leaders and experts as they share their thoughts on transportation electrification, workforce development and this growing sector of our state’s economy. We're your #1 podcast for news about Tennessee's advanced energy sector.
Episodes
Today, we’re releasing the TAEBC 2026 TVA Lunch and Learn recording for our listeners. During this special event, we talked to Mike Skaggs, interim president and CEO of TVA, and Heidi Smith, TVA’s vice president of economic development.
We began our TVA Lunch and Learn series more than 7 years ago. Our goal was to connect our members directly with decision-makers at TVA, discuss timely topics and tr...
Today, we spoke with Jean-Luc Palayer, CEO and President of Orano USA.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Orano’s Project IKE, a multibillion-dollar uranium enrichment facility in Oak Ridge. It’s one of America’s largest uranium enrichment developments for re-establishing a significant and reliable domestic nuclear energy fuel supply.
- How the company’s key relationships at the state and l...
If your company hasn’t tapped into the quantum computing resources here in Tennessee, or if you’re still wondering about how quantum and advanced energy work together, this episode is for you.
Today, we’re speaking with EPB’s CEO, Janet Rehberg. EPB is the Chattanooga area’s local power company in the Tennessee Valley with a history of saying “YES” to new ideas and inno...
Today, we talk to Bill Tindal, Director of the Tennessee Nuclear Network (TN2)
TN2 is powered by ETEC, the East Tennessee Economic Council. It’s the state's official partnership - designated by Governor Bill Lee - to strengthen Tennessee’s position as a global hub for nuclear.
In this episode, we cover:
- Tennessee being chosen as a finalist for a nuclear lifecycle innovation campus - and what this could ...
Advanced energy 🤝 economic development.
Today, we’re joined by Derrick Collins, Regional Economic Development Consultant for the Tennessee Valley Authority.
On this episode of Energizing Tennessee, we talk about:
Daniel Dassow, is a journalist who’s covered business, technology, and energy in East Tennessee for years. You may be familiar with Daniel’s bylines in the Knoxville News Sentinel and the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
In this behind-the-headlines conversation, we talk about:
- How Daniel got his start as a business and energy reporter
- Chattanooga’s growing nuclear and quantum industries
- Other d...
Today, we’re speaking with Nick de Vries, Chief Technology Officer at Silicon Ranch, about the instrumental connection between solar power, agriculture, and economic development.
This Nashville solar development company grew into a billion-dollar powerhouse for a reason.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Silicon Ranch being named #5 on TIME America's Top GreenTech Companies of 2026
- The company's 2026 SEAL ...
Listen up, entrepreneurs! This is the episode is for you.
Bill Malkes, Executive Director of the Spark Innovation Center and Spark Accelerator program at the University of Tennessee Research Park, and Lance Adler, Founder of Witching Hour and an alum of the Spark Accelerator, joined the show to talk about:
- How the Spark Accelerator is bringing more entrepreneurs and their businesses to Tennessee
- Lance's journ...
We’re kicking off our new season today with a star-studded lineup of guests from TAEBC’s Annual Meeting…because it is the annual meeting! If you missed this event, fear not, we recorded the whole thing and are going to play an abridged, listener-friendly version here so you can get caught up.
Episode Highlights:
- TAEBC’s new Power Infrastructure Solutions Working Group
- A ...
If you have ever wanted to learn about the nitty gritty of microgrid work, this episode is for you.
A few years ago, Middle Tennessee Electric partnered with Schneider Electric to build a microgrid at its Lebanon office. Today, host Cortney Piper dives into the details of the project with two Schneider Electric representatives: Ryan Egly, Senior Microgrid Solutions and Project Development Engineer and Daniel Gyampo, ...
Today’s episode is all about the 2024 Tennessee Advanced Energy Economic Impact Report. Every three years, TAEBC releases an Advanced Energy Economic Impact Report to provide context for public officials and private sector leaders to make lasting contributions to Tennessee’s economic base for the next decade and beyond. The report was produced by the Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs with ...
This episode covers a topic that’s at the heart of innovation: Fostering the growth of advanced energy technologies and startups right here in Tennessee. It will cover both sides of a startup journey — the entrepreneurs who are making waves and the organizations empowering them to reach the next level.
First, host Cortney Piper will sit down with the CEO of The Company Lab, or CO.LAB, a Chattanooga-based ...
This episode was made possible thanks to the support of Solar Alliance. In the episode, host Cortney Piper interviewed three representatives from two organizations about an incredible solar and storage project in Tennessee. Thank you to Chris Staackmann, Head of Operations of AESSEAL North America, and Solar Alliance’s President & CEO Brian Timmons and General Manager U.S. Jon Hamilton, for coming on the s...
Host Cortney Piper speaks with Anca Timofte, CEO and co-founder of Holocene, a company focused on direct air capture technology and carbon removal. Anca shares her journey from Romania to becoming an entrepreneur in the climate tech space, highlighting her experiences in chemical engineering and business school.
The discussion covers the importance of direct air capture in addressing climate change, the signifi...
Join host Cortney Piper for an insightful conversation with Dale Harrigle, Chief Engineer, Tire Development – Consumer Replacement, Bridgestone Americas. Dale discusses his decades-long career at Bridgestone and shares pivotal industry milestones, from the revolutionary introduction of silica in tire manufacturing to Bridgestone’s impressive global expansion.
Hear about how the rise of electric vehicles i...
Thank you to the WastAway team for making this episode possible. Host Cortney Piper had the pleasure of interviewing Mark Brown, CEO of WastAway, a green tech company that takes something the world doesn’t want – municipal solid waste – and converts it into something the world needs.
WastAway—Waste-Away with no E—is an advanced energy leader. Its multi-patented system transforms mu...
Host Cortney Piper interviews Mitchell Ishmael, Shift Thermal's co-founder and chief technology officer. In the episode, Mitch discusses the company's advanced thermal energy storage solution and the company milestones, including their participation in the Innovation Crossroads program.
The two discuss the benefits of cleantech entrepreneurship in Tennessee, the need for partnerships to push the boundaries of s...
Host Cortney Piper interviews Michael McCall, the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Vice President of Environment and Sustainability and Chief Sustainability Officer, about the agency’s 2023 Sustainability Report.
They discuss how TVA prioritizes sustainability and has shifted its mindset from compliance to stewardship. This shift enabled the nation’s largest public power provider to make significant pro...
Host Cortney Piper interviews Daniel Poneman, former president and chief executive officer of Centrus Energy Corporation, United States Deputy Secretary of Energy and chief operating officer of the Department of Energy. He has worked for three United States presidents on issues ranging from nuclear nonproliferation to clean energy.
In the interview, Cortney and Daniel discuss his long career and mission to cham...
Host Cortney Piper interviews Dr. Chris Burns, Chief Executive Officer of NOVONIX, a leading battery materials and technology company with operations in the United States and Canada.
Recently, DOE awarded NOVONIX a $100 million grant and a $103 million tax credit under the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Allocation Program, or the 48C program under the Inflation Reduction Act. This funding has enabled the company ...
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