As we welcome 2018 and anticipate what it will bring, the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council (TAEBC) is marking its 2017 achievements.

By championing advanced energy as an economic development and job creation strategy, TAEBC is positioning the state and its members to increase our leadership role in the $1.4 trillion global advanced energy market.

As we enter into a New Year that will likely bring new opportunities and challenges, TAEBC wants to reinforce our commitment to our members and stakeholders:

  • Inform the national energy agenda.
  • Help Tennessee become the #1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.
  • Foster the growth of Tennessee advanced energy technologies and startups.
  • Support TVA’s efforts to become the utility of the future.

As we look forward to our annual membership meeting in Nashville, TAEBC shares our top accomplishments from 2017.

  1. TAEBC recognized the Energy Mentor Network‘s one year anniversary at “Opportunities in Energy” on December 7 in Knoxville. The Energy Mentor Network’s goal is to foster the growth of Tennessee’s advanced energy startups by connecting entrepreneurs with mentors and industry specific expertise. Since last year, the network doubled the number of mentors in the program to 25, and six companies are currently enrolled. Earlier this year, the network also recognized its first graduate, Solar Site Design.
  2. Opportunities in Energy 2017 was a huge success. The featured fireside chat included Chancellor Beverly Davenport, University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Craig Blue, Director of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The fireside chat was moderated by Tom Ballard, TAEBC Board Member and Chief Alliance Officer at PYA.
  3. Welcome new members: Tim Bewley, Christopher Intellectual Property Law, Clean Energy Advisors, John Noel, Anthony Boon, Coleman Adams, Ryan Stanton, Tennessee Solar Solutions, Revive Energy, John Whaling, Vanderbilt Center for Tech Transfer and Commercialization, and Appalachian Renewable Resources.
  4. “Entrepreneurs in Advanced Energy” video is the fourth in TAEBC’s “This is Advanced Energy” series. The video showcases Tennessee’s advanced energy entrepreneurial success and the organizations driving that success.
  5. TAEBC had a full calendar year filled with events that engaged both members and non-members alike including:
    1. Wacker Polysilicon Plant Tour. Mary Beth Hudson, Vice President of Wacker Polysilicon NA, Charleston Site Manager and TAEBC Board Member provided a keynote address about Wacker’s history, immediately followed with a bus tour of the Wacker facility.
    2. TVA Listening Session with Jay Stowe, Senior VP of DER. During this listening session, Jay Stowe talked about TVA’s future concerning DER and where the energy company is heading in the future.
    3. Lunch & Learn with Jetta Wong, Senior Advisor, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator. Jetta has over 14 years of experience developing programs and policies that support energy and environment technologies. She spoke about the status of cleantech, several cleantech accomplishments within the Department of Energy, and the organization she works for the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator.
    4. Introduction to the Innovation Crossroads Innovators. Members were invited to meet Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Innovation Crossroads innovators, as the innovators were introduced to the Energy Mentor Network and our mentors.
  6. TAEBC and Launch Tennessee’s Energy Mentor Network was officially designated as one of the Innovation Crossroad’s Business Mentor Organizations. Innovation Crossroads is a new program based at ORNL that matches aspiring energy entrepreneurs with the experts, mentors, and networks in technology-related fields to take their world-changing ideas from R&D to the marketplace.
  7. Preparations are already underway for TAEBC to release an updated Economic Impact Report in 2018. The report will further define the scope of Tennessee’s advanced energy sector and quantifies its economic impact. In 2015, TAEBC published the first ever Tennessee Advanced Energy Economic Impact Report.
  8. TAEBC participates as a formal member in TVA’s newly formed stakeholder group: the “Distributed Generation – Information Exchange” or DG-IX for short. TAEBC was recently selected as its micro grid champion, and TAEBC Board Member Jim DeMouy serves on the Solar Stakeholders Group. TVA’s DG-IX was created to provide a forum for a diverse set of stakeholders to discuss the broad issues around the implementation of the distributed energy side of TVA’s 2015 Integrated Resource Plan. The group’s purpose is to build greater understanding of issues, technologies, and challenges/opportunities in distributed energy resources; facilitate dialogue among diverse interests; hear ideas, and present options and considerations to each other and TVA as they work to implement the 2015 IRP.
  9. A new board member joined TAEBC in 2017. Mary Beth Hudson serves as the Vice President of Wacker Polysilicon NA and Charleston Site Manager for Wacker Polysilicon. She is responsible for all aspects of manufacturing, supply chain, sales, and profitability of the Polysilicon division throughout the Region.

Remember to save the date for the next TAEBC event, Wednesday, February 28 in Nashville and help plan for a successful 2018.