The Tennessee Environmental Council is a left-leaning climate nonprofit that has opposed the use of nuclear power.

Opposition to Nuclear Energy

The Tennessee Environmental Council has repeatedly opposed the use of carbon free nuclear power. In June 2017 the group joined a petition opposing the Tennessee Valley Authority’s consideration of small modular reactors for a site in Tennessee. ¹ In the group’s historical timeline of accomplishments, the Tennessee Environmental Council boasted of sending a representative to a meeting of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2014 to testify against nuclear power in Tennessee. ²

Nuclear power plants produce no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions, and as of 2021 accounted for 19 percent of American electricity production—the largest source of zero carbon electricity in the United States. ³ An October 2018 proposal from The Nature Conservancy noted that zero-carbon nuclear plants produced 7.8 percent of total world energy output and recommended reducing carbon emissions by increasing nuclear capacity to 33 percent of total world energy output. ⁴

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1. Walton, Robert. “Green groups oppose TVA plan to test small nuclear reactors.” Utility Drive. June 27, 2017. Accessed April 8, 2025. https://www.utilitydive.com/news/green-groups-oppose-tva-plan-to-test-small-nuclear-reactors/445858/
2. “​50 Years of Accomplishments.” Tennessee Environmental Council. Accessed April 8, 2025. https://www.tectn.org/history.html
3. “Nuclear explained.” U.S. Energy Information Administration. Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/nuclear/us-nuclear-industry.php
4. “The Science of Sustainability.” The Nature Conservancy. October 13, 2018. Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/the-science-of-sustainability/