TENNESSEE, USA — According to a new report, the U.S. Department of Energy is one of Tennessee's top investors.
In it, officials said spending by the DoE and its contractors added around $4.2 billion to the state's gross domestic product. The department's projects and initiatives also generated around $2.9 billion in personal income throughout the state.
The DoE supported 42,906 full-time jobs, according to the report. They included both direct hires and indirect job creation in that number. In total, there were 14,667 people directed employed in Tennessee with the department, and most of them worked with Y-12.
The department also worked closely with businesses and contractors, purchasing around $940 million in goods and services during fiscal year 2020. They mostly bought professional, scientific and technical services and their spending also created more than $107 million in sales tax revenue.
The changes were a huge difference compared to fiscal year 2017, according to the report. The economic output from the DoE increased by more than $900 million in Tennessee. Personal income from the department also increased by more than $700 million.
“Oak Ridge National Laboratory plays a key role in sustaining U.S. leadership in research and development and addressing global challenges including climate change, demand for clean energy, and physical and cyber security for the grid,” said Thomas Zacharia, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. “These national missions also hold significant economic benefit for Tennessee and our local community.”
One of the department's many projects includes installing a new proton power upgrade at the Spallation Neutron Source, doubling its power. ORNL is also building infrastructure to support deploying its new supercomputer — Frontier.
ORNL is also building an experimental facility called the "Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment." It will be used to study how plasma interacts in the long term with different components of future fusion reactors.
The full economic impact report is available online.