Tennessee’s power demand is rising, nuclear development is accelerating and data centers are changing the scale of the conversation. Blackburn, Green and Pinkston are offering different energy priorities. But one fact limits all three: Tennessee’s governor does not run TVA.
Nashville, Tenn – Tennessee’s next governor will talk about energy constantly.
She will not control the institution that produces most of it.
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned government corporation serving more than 10 million people across seven states. It sells electricity through 153 local power companies and operates a system that includes nuclear plants, hydroelectric dams, natural gas, coal and solar generation. TVA’s board is appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Its board, not Tennessee’s governor, oversees the utility’s leadership.
That distinction is becoming more important as Tennessee grows.
TVA says electricity demand is increasing primarily because of population growth and data centers, and its 2026 Integrated Resource Plan is examining how the system should meet that demand over the next two decades.
Marsha Blackburn, Jerri Green and Lauren Pinkston all want to shape that future.
Their actual authority would begin outside TVA.
Blackburn: Make Tennessee an energy powerhouse
Blackburn entered the governor’s race promising to make Tennessee a leading “energy-producing powerhouse.” Her more detailed record comes from the U.S. Senate, where she has advocated a diverse domestic energy supply while strongly supporting nuclear expansion and the Trump administration’s renewed emphasis on coal.
Nuclear power is especially central to her recent work.
Blackburn supported federal funding for TVA’s planned small modular reactor at the Clinch River site near Oak Ridge. The U.S. Department of Energy selected TVA for a $400 million award to advance that project, and Blackburn has argued that Tennessee should become the center of America’s next generation of nuclear development.
But there is an unusual power shift hidden inside a Blackburn governorship.
As a U.S. senator, Blackburn currently participates directly in confirming TVA board members. She supported the confirmation of TVA directors Jeff Hagood and Mitch Graves last year.
A governor gets no such vote.
Governor Blackburn could advocate for nuclear development, support state incentives and pressure TVA publicly.
She could not order TVA to build a reactor, keep a coal plant open or change an electric rate.
Green: Keep TVA public and push toward renewables
Green’s platform places more emphasis on environmental protection and public ownership.
She proposes investing in renewable energy and green jobs, enforcing clean-air and clean-water standards and ensuring that households do not absorb the extraordinary electricity costs associated with large AI and data-center projects.
Green also promises a Day One executive order declaring that TVA should remain a public utility rather than becoming privatized.
The message is clear.
The legal effect would be limited.
A Tennessee executive order cannot determine the ownership structure of a federal corporation. TVA was created by Congress, its directors come through the federal appointment process, and its legal status is not controlled by Tennessee state government.
A Governor Green could make Tennessee’s opposition to privatization unmistakable.
She could lobby Congress and the White House.
She could not preserve TVA’s federal structure by executive order alone.
Her published platform also calls for renewable investment but does not currently provide the same detailed position on nuclear generation that Blackburn and Pinkston have offered. That is a distinction worth preserving rather than assuming that support for renewables equals opposition to nuclear power.
Pinkston: Nuclear, renewables and a public TVA
Pinkston offers the broadest published state-energy blueprint.
Her platform supports expanding Tennessee’s nuclear capacity, including small modular reactors, while also removing unnecessary barriers to renewable projects and investing in emerging energy technologies. She proposes grid modernization and says large data-center operators should not shift the cost of infrastructure upgrades onto ordinary ratepayers.
Pinkston also promises to protect TVA from privatization.
Again, that is a policy position rather than a unilateral gubernatorial power.
Where Pinkston — or either opponent — could act more directly is through Tennessee government.
The governor still matters
Bill Lee and the General Assembly created Tennessee’s Nuclear Energy Fund in 2023. It now represents $70 million aimed at nuclear-business recruitment, workforce development and site preparation. A future governor could propose continuing, expanding, reducing or redirecting state programs like that through the budget and legislative process.
Governors from TVA-region states also nominate representatives to TVA’s advisory councils. Those councils provide input on energy and environmental policy, but they are advisory; they do not run TVA.
That is the real boundary.
Blackburn can try to make Tennessee an energy-production center.
Green can push renewables and defend public power.
Pinkston can pursue nuclear expansion, renewables and grid modernization.
Each can influence economic-development incentives, state energy programs, workforce investments, environmental enforcement and legislation.
None can become TVA’s CEO from the governor’s office.
Tennessee’s energy debate therefore requires two questions, not one:
What does the candidate want Tennessee’s energy future to look like?
And just as importantly:
Which parts of that future would she actually have the power to change?
The first question tells voters the vision.
The second tells them whether the promise belongs to the governor at all.
I am a retired detective and criminal justice / government educator based in Tennessee. I founded The Redemption Project, as a place to focus on civics, rebuild non-partisan trust, and provide educational and emotional grace while learning about the news. I also have a column in Knox TN Today. My reporting and commentary have also appeared in other outlets including; Governing, The Arizona Capitol Times, South Florida Sun Sentinel, Police1, among other state and regional outlets.
