The nuclear power workforce in the United States could more than triple by 2050 if the industry reaches its expansion goals, and a new Chattanooga nonprofit wants to attract and begin training those workers.
Randy Steele founded BWRX Studio in November to fill his time when he isn’t teaching at Chattanooga State Community College as faculty lead for nuclear power engineering technology and radiation protection.
The nonprofit is separate from his work at Chatt State, which is experiencing rapid growth in its nuclear programs, Steele said.
BWRX Studio will be based in Chattanooga and is already accepting applications for a nuclear fellowship and providing educational resources that cover the basics of nuclear power. The nonprofit aims to provide free educational material and training to people exploring careers in the industry, Steele said.
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The Tennessee Valley Authority hired Steele in 1981 as he was getting an associate’s degree in nuclear power technology at Chatt State. He worked for the federally owned utility at its Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama for more than 30 years.
People of all ages can get jobs at a nuclear plant and soon make six figures, Steele said in an interview.
“It does not require a college degree,” Steele said. “It just requires the right attitude, the right training and the willingness to learn.”
There are 54 nuclear plants in the U.S. with 94 nuclear reactors, which supply around 20% of the nation’s electricity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The plants employ around 100,000 people, a number that the U.S. Department of Energy anticipates will rise to 375,000 people by 2050 with the development of advanced reactors.
‘NO BETTER PLACE’
Chattanooga is “TVA’s nuclear headquarters,” Steele said.
TVA, the nation’s largest government-owned power provider, is headquartered in Knoxville, but the Scenic City is home to its largest operations base and sits between its three nuclear plants.
“There’s no better place to do this kind of startup,” Duane Olcsvary, a board member at BWRX Studio, said in an interview. “If you could put a map of the U.S. up and see the concentration of nuclear talent anywhere in the country, Tennessee would be probably the best place to start.”
Olcsvary, a former TVA and Westinghouse manager, is head of nuclear at Oppenheimer Energy, a nuclear project development company founded by the grandson of famed physicist Robert Oppenheimer.
The nuclear industry needs more mentorship and training for the next generation to meet the moment, Olcsvary said. He sees Studio BWRX filling that role.
“You can call this whatever you like, but it’s an incubator for new nuclear talent, and as it gets visibility, it’s going to catch on like wildfire,” Olcsvary said. “It could quickly become a benchmark for the rest of the country on how this is done.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in May calling for the Department of Energy to focus on getting 10 new large nuclear reactors under construction by 2030. That level of construction could easily require 100,000 workers, Olcsvary said.
“This needs to be treated like another Manhattan Project with a sense of urgency that would foster the transparency and collaboration to try to achieve such ambitious goals,” Olcsvary said. “We can put interested people in touch with all kinds of resources that are already out there.”
PUBLIC EDUCATION
Steele began a separate company called Studio Vinci, which is a private, for-profit company to develop the intellectual property related to the nonprofit’s training material, like podcasts, social media and video content. Both the company and the nonprofit are looking for a space in Chattanooga, Steele said. He wants it to be a space for the wider community to come and learn about nuclear power.
“I plan on educating the community so that wherever I open up business to train people, the public will be welcome,” Steele said. “I want to set it up in a way that you can walk into a lobby and you can see a simulator or classroom in session.”
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The nonprofit will seek funding through grants and partnerships with private industry, Steele said.
Tim Cleary, another board member at BWRX Studio, said the nonprofit could help build up the pipeline for nuclear workers by being a conduit for potential nuclear professionals.
Cleary entered the nuclear industry in 1977 as he earned a degree in nuclear engineering from Georgia Tech, though very few workers at any nuclear plant have a nuclear engineering degree. He went on to be a site vice president at TVA’s Sequoyah and Watts Bar nuclear plants in East Tennessee.
“There’s a job for everybody in nuclear power,” Cleary said. “There’s a lot of very talented people in the industry, but there’s not enough.”
Contact business reporter Daniel Dassow at ddassow@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.