We are just days away from welcoming in a new year, and the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council (TAEBC) is celebrating its 2018 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.

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 and our local power companies’ efforts to become the energy company of the future.

We look forward to our annual membership meeting in Nashville, but until then let’s reflect on our top accomplishments from 2018.

  1. Energy Mentor Network companies at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Innovation Crossroads, Megan O’Connor, Co-founder & CEO, Nth Cycle and Anna Douglas, CEO, SkyNano, were named to the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 cohort from the energy sector. Congratulations to them!
  2. TAEBC released its 2018 Economic Impact Report, detailing how the advanced energy sector is so strong in Tennessee that it outperformed the state’s overall economy–employing nearly 360,000 Tennesseans at more than 18,000 businesses that contribute almost $40 billion to the state’s GDP. Read the latest report here.
  3. Stone Mountain Technologies became the second official graduate from the Energy Mentor Network. The company, based in Johnson City, Tennessee, has developed replacements for furnaces, boilers, and hot-water heaters that save 30-50% off heating costs for homeowners and light commercial building owners.
  4. TAEBC’s 2018 Annual Membership Meeting, hosted by Bridgestone, was headlined by Scott Becker, Senior Vice President of Administration and Finance for Nissan North America. His presentation focused on Nissan’s contribution to Tennessee’s advanced energy economy, the growth the company has experienced since its original decision to locate in Tennessee, and Nissan’s vision in future automotive technology. Members also had the opportunity to hear from TAEBC’s newest board members: Trish Starkey with Schneider Electric, Marc Gibson with UT, and Chris Bowles with Bradley.
  5. TAEBC had a full calendar year filled with events that engaged both members and stakeholders alike including:
    1. TAEBC Vice President Cortney Piper, Anna Douglas with Sky Nano and Launch Tennessee executives were at Tennessee’s Capitol Hill earlier this year for Innovation Week on the Hill, connecting entrepreneurs and innovators with legislators to discuss key challenges facing small businesses.
    2. TAEBC hosted an information session on distributed generation in the summer.
    3. About a dozen representatives from the European Union delegation focused on energy, visited Tennessee for a three-day educational trip. TAEBC arranged a luncheon at Analysis and Measurement Systems Corporation (AMS) in Knoxville for discussions on Tennessee’s unique advanced energy economy and how the EU could learn from the state’s energy model.
    4. TAEBC hosted a lunch and learn with TVA’s Jeff Smith, giving members the opportunity to have an open dialogue with the new board member.
    5. The Energy Mentor Network’s mentors had an opportunity to meet the Innovation Crossroads newly inducted second cohort at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and hear more about their exciting technologies and innovations.
  6. TAEBC Vice President Cortney Piper attended TenneSEIA’s Tennessee Valley Solar Conference where she participated in an “Economic Development and the Solar Supply Chain” panel.
  7. Opportunities in Energy 2018 featured a panel taking a deeper look inside TVA’s partnership with Innovation Crossroads Cohort Three, an update from TennSMART’s efforts on accelerating the development and deployment of new intelligent mobility innovations in Tennessee, and power pitches from Energy Mentor Network companies as they presented their entrepreneurial solutions for our nation’s energy challenges!
  8. Welcome new members: Carter Hall, Core BioDevelopment, EnerNOC, GTA, Inc., Jane Pate, John Bruck, Randy Johnson, Ridgeline Venture Law, and Solar Site Design.
  9. The Energy Mentor Network has made significant progress since its founding in 2016. 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. Eight companies are actively enrolled in the network and more than 30 mentors are providing their expertise.
  10. TAEBC submitted comments to TVA in the spring for both the 2018 rate change proposal and the 2019 IRP.   

Save the date for the next TAEBC event, Tuesday, February 12, 2019 and help plan for a successful 2019!