With a new year well underway, it’s time for the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council (TAEBC) to take inventory of 2015’s successes while charting a course for 2016.

TAEBC has grown to become a leading voice for our advanced energy economy, championing both the state and national opportunities to capture our more than fair share of the $1.3 trillion global advanced energy market.

From hosting Assistant Secretary David Danielson and Deputy Assistant Secretary Reuben Sarkar to an invitation to the White House and releasing the state’s first Tennessee Advanced Energy Economic Impact Report, 2015 proved to be a year in which the TAEBC voice was heard clearly on a state, regional and national level.

In anticipation of our annual membership meeting in Nashville, TAEBC shares our top 10 accomplishments from 2015.

TAEBC Top 10 Year in Review

1. Tennessee Advanced Energy Economic Impact Report, the first document of its kind that defines the scope and scale of the state’s advanced energy sector and quantifies its economic impact. The report received statewide media coverage and recognition of advanced energy as an economic driver for Tennessee and a source of high quality jobs.
2. U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary David Danielson Listening Session in Chattanooga, creating an opportunity for members to provide input on how DOE can continue to impact our economy.
3. White House Forum on Connecting Regional Innovation Ecosystems to Federal and National Labs, attended by TAEBC President Tom Ballard with the purpose to ensure that federal labs continue to do more for regional economies.
4. Tennessee Valley Authority’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which looks at how TVA will meet energy needs over the next 20 years. A group of our members formed a small sub-committee and worked together to draft and submit comments relevant to our mission— advanced energy as an economic development strategy.
5. TVA’s newly formed stakeholder group, “Distributed Generation – Information Exchange.” TAEBC was selected to serve on this stakeholder group, sharing industry expertise to inform TVA’s distributed generation policies.
6. American Energy and Manufacturing Competitiveness Summit & Annual visit to Washington D.C. TAEBC delegates met with representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy and Senator Lamar Alexander and Congressman Chuck Fleischmann.
7. “Opportunities in Energy” with U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Reuben Sarkar, featuring panel discussions on advancements in the automotive industry, advanced energy job growth, and power generation.
8. DOE Director of the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and minority business owners. TAEBC presented to this group, showcasing how advanced energy can be used as an economic development tool.
9. Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative’s (CEMI) Southeast Regional Summit, hosted by DOE. TAEBC spoke to manufacturers, innovators, and federal and regional resources about our unique approach to advanced energy as an economic development strategy.
10. Welcome new members: Schneider Electric, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Windrow Phillips Group, Dr. Bill Carswell, Hitachi, One Scientific, Trane, Shoals Technologies Group, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP, Cherokee Farm, Dadeni Solar, LLC, Alstom (Charter Member), Nazzy Hashemian, and Balfour Beatty Investments.

Without a strong membership, TAEBC could not be the successful organization it is today. An organization with a powerful mission of fostering the growth of Tennessee’s advanced energy technologies, companies and jobs, helping the state gain its fair share of the global $1.3 trillion advanced energy market.

Save the date for the next membership opportunity, Wednesday, February 10th in Nashville, and help plan for a successful 2016.