Mar
08
2010
Southside Virginia will soon have a more concrete picture of the economic benefits the Coles Hill uranium project would generate for the region.
The Southside Virginia company that controls the largest undeveloped uranium deposit in the United States is conducting an economic scoping study to determine the cost of mining and milling the deposit and the number of jobs it would create reports the Danville Register & Bee.
Virginia Uranium Inc. wants to develop the Coles Hill uranium deposit located in Pittsylvania County. The deposit is worth an estimated $7 billion and is believed to contain enough uranium to fuel Virginia’s nuclear power for more than 65 years. The company estimates that mining and milling the deposit will create as many as 500 new jobs with an average annual salary of $68,000 and generate roughly $13 million in annual local tax revenue. The economic scoping study will provide a more definitive projection of these costs and economic benefits to the community.
‘The scoping study will give us a better understanding of the up-front capital investment into the local community, as well as the skills required and number of employees that we would hire,’ said Walter Coles Sr., chairman and CEO of VUI, in a prepared statement. ‘This is an exciting and important step to quantify the benefits of developing the Coles Hill uranium project for our nation’s energy independence and for the economic prosperity of Southside Virginia.’”
Two engineering firms – Lyntek Inc. and BRS Inc. – are performing the study and expect its’ completion by June.
Mar
04
2010
The National Research Council (NRC) – the chief operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) – announced this week that it is accepting nominations for a 12-member committee to conduct an 18-month scientific study of uranium mining in Virginia. Nominations should be sent to Nicholas Rogers (nrogers@nas.edu) from the National Academy.
From the Chatham Star-Tribune:
The council is hoping to identify suitable members for the study committee with expertise in areas such as ecology, environmental and mining law, environmental remediation, geology, ground and surface water hydrogeochemistry, health communications, mine safety, mine regulation and reclamation, radiation health effects; and uranium mining, milling, processing, and engineering.”
Before being approved to serve on the committee, all nominees must undergo a thorough review to ensure the absence of any financial or other conflicts of interest. The committee selection process is expected to conclude this spring. The committee will then hold a series of public information gathering meetings in Richmond and Danville in the summer. The study’s report is due in December 2011.
The NRC agreed last week to perform the study sponsored by the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission to determine the health, safety and environmental impact of uranium mining in Virginia.
The largest undeveloped uranium deposit in the United States is found in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Coles Hill – as the deposit is known – is believed to contain enough uranium to fuel Virginia’s entire nuclear power supply for more than 65 years. Virginia gets almost 40% of its electricity from nuclear energy. The project is also expected to create as many as 500 jobs with an annual salary of $68,000, more than double the average annual salary for Pittsylvania County. Developing the deposit will also generate roughly $13 million in annual local tax revenue. That’s more than $200 in vital services for every resident of the County.
The independent, scientific study by the National Academy will make recommendations to the Virginia General Assembly as it considers whether to end the Commonwealth’s 25-year-old moratorium on uranium mining. A 1983 study – also sponsored by the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission – found that mining and milling the Coles Hill deposit could be undertaken safely and without harming the environment.
Mar
01
2010
There is no mistaking it; the American nuclear renaissance is underway, and Virginia is at the epicenter of activity. Catherine Amos writes for the Danville Register & Bee about all the pieces that contribute to Virginia’s thriving nuclear industry and how they will make enormous contributions to economic development and energy independence.
The largest undeveloped uranium deposit in the United States is found in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. There is enough uranium at the Coles Hill deposit to fuel Virginia’s entire nuclear output for 65 years, or America’s for more than 2 years. As Patrick Wales, project manager for the Coles Hill operation, points out, the urgency of developing domestic uranium sources only heightens as America builds more nuclear reactors.
‘There’s a misconception that building our new nuclear plants will decrease our dependence on foreign energy sources,’ Wales said. ‘If we do build new plants, which I think everyone agrees is necessary, and do not develop our own resources, it will exacerbate our dependence on foreign fuel.
‘[Coles Hill is] the largest undeveloped deposit [of uranium] and certainly we can have a benefit to fueling our domestic nuclear facilities and actually help reduce that dependence on foreign uranium.’”
Experts predict that nuclear power in the United States will increase by at least 20% over the next two decades. America’s existing nuclear fleet consists of 104 reactors, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is currently reviewing applications for 31 new reactors. If approved, one of those reactors would be built in Virginia at Dominion’s North Anna Power Station.
Virginia is also home to two of the world’s largest nuclear manufacturers and designers: Areva and Babock & Wilcox (BWX). Babcock & Wilcox’s new modular reactor design and Areva’s massive new components factory in Newport News have positioned these Virginia companies to lead the design and construction of America’s new fleet of nuclear reactors.
And, to make sure there is a market for Virginia’s nuclear fuel, services and products industries, Virginia’s Senator Jim Webb has proposed bold action by the government to encourage the expansion of nuclear energy across America.
[I]n November, Sen. Jim Webb co-sponsored bipartisan legislation with Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., to invest $20 billion over the next 10 to 20 years to expand nuclear energy and other clean energy technology in the United States — doubling domestic nuclear power by 2030 and extending the life of the current fleet of 104 nuclear reactors by 20 years.”
Feb
26
2010
The U.S. Interior Department recieved applications this week from two Virginia companies seeking to lease hundreds of thousands of acres 12 miles off Virginia’s coast for the purpose of building massive offshore wind power farms reports the Daily Press.
Apex Wind Energy Inc. is proposing to lease 116,000 acres for an undetermined number of wind turbines with the potential to generate up to 1,500 megawatts of power. Seawind Renewable Energy Corp. envisions building 240 turbines to generate enough power for more than 250,000 homes annually, according to a company statement.”
The two proposed offshore wind farms would be capable of supplying electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes in Virginia. The Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium – a body established by Governor Kaine to explore Virginia’s offshore energy potential – estimates that Virginia could generate as much as 20% of our electricity from offshore wind in the next decade or two.
The Virginia Offshore Wind Coalition estimates the development of a wind power hub in Virginia has the potential to become an $80 billion industry creating more than 10,000 jobs.
The Apex and Seawind applications were the first offshore wind proposals for Virginia to be submitted to the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service. The lease application is only the first step in what is expected to a long process that could take more than 5 years. However, it is an important first step nonetheless.
Not only is there enormous potential for offshore wind power generaton in Virginia, but Hampton Roads’ manufacturing base is equipped and poised to play a leading role in building the massive turbines for the wind farms. Lynchburg-based energy giant Areva has expressed serious interest in building a large wind turbine manufacturing facility in Hampton Roads to equip Virginia’s and other East Coast state’s offshore wind industries. Areva’s wind business development director told Virginia’s Manufacturing Development Commission last fall that a major turbine manufacturing operations could generate as many as 8,000 jobs in the Commonwealth.
Feb
25
2010
The long-awaited study of the health, safety and environmental impact of uranium mining in Virginia is finally underway. The Chatham Star-Tribune reports that a contract has been signed between Virginia Tech’s Coal and Energy Research Center and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to undertake the study. The National Research Council – the National Academy’s chief operating arm – will conduct the study, while Virginia Tech will serve as a liason for the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission, the study’s sponsor, and Virginia Uranium, Inc., the study’s funder.
After more than a year of misinformation and baseless scare tactics from mining opponents, finally objective, unbiased experts from the nation’s most prestigious scientific research institution will determine if the tremendous energy and economic resources found in Pittsylvania County, Virginia can be developed in a way that protects the environment, health and safety of the region.
The Coles Hill uranium deposit is the largest untapped nuclear fuel deposit in the United States. Developing the deposit will not only significantly reduce America’s dependence on foreign sources of nuclear fuel, it will also be an engine for long-term job creation and economic development across Southside Virginia. The Coles Hill project is expected to create as many as 500 new jobs with an average annual salary of $68,000. At current estimates, it will also generate about $13 million in local tax revenue each year. The project will also stimulate hundreds of additional jobs and millions of dollars of additional economic development in local supporting industries. For a region struggling with chronically high unemployment and low average salary and wages, this potential economic boom is no small drop in the bucket.
The study committee, which will consist of 12 or so academic and professional experts in the field, will be selected this spring following a 20-day period of public comment. The committee is expected to hold a series of public meetings throughout Virginia in the summer and fall to hear input from the general public with a final report due by December 2011.
The Virginia Energy Independence Alliance supports this important scientific study that will help shape the future of economic development in Southside Virginia and the future of energy independence in America.
For more information about the study, visit the National Academy of Sciences’ Web site, www.NationalAcademies.org.
