The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation approved a permit for Type One Energy to break ground on a nuclear fusion research and development facility at the Bull Run Energy Complex, a site operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The approval gives Tennessee its first permitted commercial fusion site.
Bull Run sits in Anderson County, across the river from Oak Ridge, and places the campus alongside a concentration of federal energy research capacity. Type One Energy said it will start construction this year and finish the campus by 2034. Work at the site will run in coordination with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TVA, and the University of Tennessee. A second phase targets a 400 MW fusion power plant.
The permitting path reflects a regulatory distinction drawn in 2023, when federal regulators agreed to oversee fusion facilities under a framework separate from the one governing fission reactors. That decision moved licensing authority for fusion research campuses toward state agencies and shortened approval timelines.
Tennessee has spent several years building policy support for the sector. State rules classify nuclear projects as green energy, which opens access to tax treatment and state grant programs aimed at drawing developers to the state. Tennessee and local governments agreed to forgo sales taxes tied to the $4.5 billion facility. The state also stands as a finalist for a federal nuclear lifecycle campus program that offers financial incentives to states that host nuclear infrastructure.
The project adds to a growing cluster of Southeast energy technology investment anchored around the Oak Ridge corridor.
Source: Tennessee Lookout - https://tennesseelookout.com/2026/08/31/tennessee-approves-license-for-nuclear-fusion-facility-in-clinton-bull-run-energy-complex/