On April 16, 2026, the Tennessee General Assembly passed House Bill 2631, the state's $58.3 billion appropriations act for fiscal year 2026-27 (FY27), by a Senate vote of 26-5 and a House vote of 83-12. Governor Bill Lee signed it on May 22, 2026 as Public Chapter 1142. For the nuclear industry, the act adds $25 million to the state's Nuclear Energy Fund, a second consecutive $10 million for nuclear workforce training through the Governor's Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) program, and $3 million for Next-Gen Academies in nuclear and cyber technologies at Tennessee Tech. The FY27 appropriations continue Tennessee's multi-year use of state dollars to lower the risk of private investment across the nuclear fuel-and-reactor supply chain.
Key Takeaways
| 01 | The Nuclear Energy Fund grows to roughly $95 million. HB 2631 adds $25 million to the $70 million appropriated since 2023, and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) negotiates awards project-by-project with no standing application window. |
| 02 | Nuclear workforce money is funded for a second straight year. A second consecutive $10 million GIVE appropriation and $3 million for Tennessee Tech Next-Gen Academies follow the Nuclear Energy Advisory Council's pipeline recommendations. |
| 03 | The Fund's track record is measurable. By the governor's December 2025 count, Fund-backed recruitment has produced $7.3 billion in announced investment and nearly 2,000 jobs, roughly $35,000 in state Fund dollars per job on the $70 million invested through FY26. |
| 04 | The FY26 small modular reactor (SMR) Grant Fund backed a winning federal bid. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for a $400 million Gen III+ SMR award on December 2, 2025. The state's FY26 SMR Grant Fund was built to support that application. |
| 05 | State dollars sit alongside federal awards. Orano pairs a $6 million Nuclear Energy Fund grant with a $900 million DOE award under the low-enriched uranium (LEU) enrichment program, and Tennessee has proposed Oak Ridge as the site for a DOE Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus. |
Since creating the Nuclear Energy Fund in 2023, Tennessee has appropriated $70 million through the Fund (rising to approximately $95 million with the FY27 top-up) and recruited Orano, Type One Energy, BWXT, Oklo, and Radiant Industries, among others, for a combined $7.3 billion in announced investment and nearly 2,000 new jobs, by the governor's office's December 2025 count. On the $70 million invested through FY26, that works out to roughly $35,000 in state Fund investment per job attracted. More than 230 nuclear lifecycle companies now operate in the Oak Ridge-Knoxville corridor. With HB 2631, the nuclear line items in this alert total about $170 million since 2023, counting the full $3 million Tennessee Tech appropriation, which also covers cyber.
"We have also made Tennessee the global epicenter of nuclear energy…talk about a new frontier."
Gov. Bill Lee (R), 2026 State of the State Address
Source: Office of Governor Bill Lee, 2026 State of the State Address, February 2, 2026. Photo: official portrait, Office of the Governor of Tennessee.
The FY27 budget completes a two-budget sequence. The 2025 session seeded the $50 million SMR Grant Fund, a $10 million Nuclear Energy Fund installment, and the first $10 million GIVE nuclear appropriation, alongside $2.6 million to stand up a commercial fusion regulatory framework. That year's separate $25 million FastTrack appropriation serves business recruitment in all industries and is not counted as nuclear money. The 2026 session adds recruitment and workforce money on top. Exhibit 1 compares the two years.
Exhibit 1
Tennessee nuclear appropriations by program, FY2025-26 and FY2026-27
Sources: House Bill 2631 (FY2026-27 Appropriations Act); State of Tennessee, The Budget, Fiscal Year 2026-2027, Budget Highlights, February 2, 2026; FY27 Budget Presentation, Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration; SSTI Digest, February 27, 2025 (FY26 proposal detail).
The Nuclear Energy Fund is now a roughly $95 million recruitment tool. The $25 million top-up brings cumulative Fund appropriations to approximately $95 million since 2023: the original $50 million in 2023, $10 million each in the 2024 and 2025 sessions, and $25 million now. The Fund helped land Centrus Energy's January 23, 2026 commitment to invest more than $560 million and create nearly 430 jobs converting its Oak Ridge plant to high-rate centrifuge manufacturing, and LIS Technologies' January 16, 2026 announcement of a $1.38 billion laser uranium enrichment facility expected to create 203 jobs. Centrus was the eighth company to draw on the Fund, and LIS the seventh. Awards are tracked in TNECD's public Nuclear Fund Project Database, which lists 16 grants ranging from $264,000 for a Chattanooga machine shop to $13 million for Oklo and $11 million for TRISO-X.
The $50 million SMR Grant Fund backed TVA's successful bid for a $400 million federal award. On December 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy selected TVA for a $400 million Gen III+ SMR award for a GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 at the Clinch River Site, which the governor's office calls the nation's first small modular reactor. The state's FY26 SMR Grant Fund was built to support that application.
Nuclear workforce money has been appropriated two years running. Back-to-back $10 million GIVE appropriations fund technical-college and K-12 pipeline programs recommended by the state's Nuclear Energy Advisory Council, created under Executive Order 101. The $3 million for Next-Gen Academies at Tennessee Tech adds a university program in nuclear and cyber technologies. Both appropriations put state dollars into training the workforce that manufacturers weigh when they consider Tennessee sites.
Nuclear Energy Fund and FastTrack money reaches the whole fuel-and-reactor supply chain. Component and materials manufacturers that locate in the state are eligible for Nuclear Energy Fund and FastTrack support negotiated through TNECD on a project-by-project basis. GIVE partnerships and FastTrack infrastructure grants also flow through communities. The City of Oak Ridge, Roane County, and Roane State Community College have all received Fund awards. Exhibit 2 lists selected projects in the Oak Ridge-Knoxville corridor and the money behind each.
Exhibit 2
Selected Oak Ridge-Knoxville nuclear projects, status as of May 22, 2026
| Project | What it is | Money behind it |
|---|---|---|
| TVA Clinch River Site | GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 small modular reactor, one of DOE's two first-mover Gen III+ SMR projects. | $400 million DOE award; state $50 million SMR Grant Fund |
| Orano Project IKE | $5 billion, 624-acre uranium enrichment site; NRC accepted the license application May 21, 2026 for an accelerated 12-month review. | $900 million DOE award; $6 million Nuclear Energy Fund grant |
| Centrus Energy | Oak Ridge centrifuge manufacturing plant converting to high-rate production, nearly 430 jobs. | More than $560 million private investment; Nuclear Energy Fund |
| Kairos Power Hermes 2 | Demonstration plant on the Oak Ridge campus; ground broken April 17, 2026. | Private investment |
| Type One Energy | Fusion campus; the state appropriated $2.6 million to stand up a commercial fusion regulatory framework. | $4.5 million Nuclear Energy Fund grant |
| LIS Technologies | Laser uranium enrichment facility announced January 16, 2026, expected to create 203 jobs. | $1.38 billion private investment; Nuclear Energy Fund |
Sources: Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development project announcements; U.S. Department of Energy award announcements; company press releases cited in this alert. Statuses as of May 22, 2026.
Several of the corridor's largest projects pair state incentives with federal awards. Orano's $900 million DOE award under the LEU enrichment program sits alongside a $6 million Nuclear Energy Fund grant. TVA's $400 million Gen III+ SMR award followed the state's $50 million SMR Grant Fund. The state's April 2, 2026 proposal to host a DOE Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus at Oak Ridge, backed by Senate Joint Resolution 887, cites up to $40 billion in GE Vernova Hitachi SMR manufacturing investment, which the governor's office ties to the U.S.-Japan investment framework, and the more than 230 nuclear lifecycle companies in the corridor. Exhibit 3 lists the dates from that proposal to the NRC's target decision on Orano's Project IKE license.
Exhibit 3
Tennessee nuclear budget and federal milestones, April 2026 to April 2027
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| April 2, 2026 | Tennessee submitted its proposal to host a DOE Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus at Oak Ridge, backed by Senate Joint Resolution 887. |
| April 16, 2026 | General Assembly passed HB 2631 (Senate 26-5, House 83-12). |
| May 22, 2026 | Governor Lee signed HB 2631 as Public Chapter 1142. |
| July 1, 2026 | Effective date of the FY27 appropriations, tied to the start of the fiscal year. |
| April 30, 2027 | NRC target decision date on Orano's Project IKE enrichment license, submitted in parts in January and March 2026. |
Sources: Tennessee General Assembly; Office of Governor Bill Lee; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; U.S. Department of Energy. Statuses as of May 22, 2026.
If your company is weighing a Tennessee site for enrichment, fuel, reactor, or component work, the FY27 budget gives TNECD more Nuclear Energy Fund money to put on the table. Awards are negotiated project by project, with no standing application window. If you want a read on fit before you settle on a site, reach out to our team.
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