Featured Projects

Here are three efforts currently underway to harness Virginia’s resources to fuel, manufacture and generate domestic energy and create hundreds of new jobs all across Virginia.

Uranium Mining

Found in the heart of Southside Virginia’s Pittsylvania County, the Coles Hill uranium deposit is the largest untapped uranium deposit in the United States.  In fact, there is enough uranium found at Coles Hill to single-handedly fuel Virginia’s nuclear demand at current levels for more than 65 years.  Considering that the United States imports 86% of our uranium from foreign countries – including about 25% from Russia – developing Coles Hill would deliver a major blow to our nation’s dependence on foreign energy.

The economic benefits from mining the Coles Hill deposit would also be significant.  Mining and milling the deposit will bring as many as 500 new high-paying jobs to Southside Virginia – a region that after decades of plant closings and factory layoffs suffers from unemployment levels nearly double the state average.  Other local businesses throughout the region will benefit from the economic activity that Coles Hill promises to stimulate, be they vendors supporting the mining, or local retailers supporting the miners.  The project will generate millions of dollars in annual tax revenue for Pittsylvania County.

Before the General Assembly can vote to lift the current moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is conducting an 18-month independent study to explore the health, safety and environmental impact and ensure that the deposit can be mined safely.  The Academy will publish its final report in December 2011.  The Virginia Energy Independence Alliance supports this important study and this landmark project that will contribute to American energy independence and to much-needed job creation in Southside Virginia.

For more information about Coles Hill, visit www.VirginiaUranium.com.  For more information about the National Academy of Sciences study, visit www.dels.nas.edu/global/besr/Uranium.

Surry County Coal Plant

Second to California, Virginia is the largest importer of electricity in the United States. Virginia imports roughly 34% of our electricity each year from generation sources outside of the state. The 2010 Virginia Energy Plan estimates that Virginia will need to add 7,200 megawatt of new electricity generation in the next 10 years just to maintain the current ratio and keep up with rising demand.

A new 1,500 megawatt coal-fired power plant in Surry County proposed by Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) would make a significant contribution to narrowing Virginia’s projected shortfall. In February 2010, ODEC was granted final zoning approval by the Dendron Town Council and Surry County Board of Supervisors to build the $6 billion Cypress Creek Power Station on a 350-acre site just outside of the Town of Dendron. However, due to slower than expected growth in electricity demand in the wake of the recession, ODEC announced in late 2010 that it would delay plans to build the plant by 18 to 24 months. They plan to resume the state and federal permitting process once market demand rebounds to normal levels.

Last year the Richmond Times-Dispatch characterized the project as an “economic windfall” for Surry County, the sixth-smallest county in Virginia. The construction phase of the project would require 2,400 to 2,600 workers, and operating the plant would create 200 to 225 permanent jobs for area residents. Many residents and community leaders are enthusiastic about the prospects for bring economic development to the economically challenged region. Surry’s median income falls 25% below the state average and area poverty rates are 15% higher than the rest of the state.

ODEC is a member-owned electric cooperative that provides power to 280,000 homes and businesses in Virginia. For more information about the proposed Cypress Creek Power Station, visit www.CypressCreekPowerStation.com.

Nuclear Components Manufacturing

From reactor vessels and steam generators to pressurizers and heavy reactor supports, Virginia is on the front lines of manufacturing the next generation of American nuclear power plants.  Experts predict that nuclear power in the United States will increase by 20% over the next two decades as a new generation of reactors are built across the country.  The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is currently reviewing applications for 31 new reactors to add to America’s existing fleet of 104 reactors.  One of the new reactors being considered would be located at Dominion’s North Anna Power Station in Louisa County.

Alongside this vast revitalization of America’s nuclear fleet, American nuclear companies are undertaking a massive expansion of our components manufacturing capacity to supply the parts for the new reactors.  One of the largest endeavors is taking place right here in Virginia.  AREVA NP and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding broke ground in July 2009 on a 300,000 square-foot, $363 million nuclear components factory in Newport News.  By the time the project reaches completion, it will have created  500 new jobs in Hampton Roads and “will make Virginia the leader in a revival of America’s nuclear-manufacturing capability,” says Michael Rencheck, AREVA NP’s CEO.

The sprawling facility is expected to be operational in January 2013.  For more information about the AREVA Newport News manufacturing facility, visit www.areva-np.com.

Solar Panel Installation

Aided by the 30 percent federal investment tax credit for both residential and commercial solar installations and a host of other state and local incentives, residents and businesses across Virginia are taking energy independence into their own hands by harnessing energy from the sun.

Homeowners and businesses are also taking advantage of the growing number of solar installation companies operating in Virginia and throughout the region.  Astrum Solar – one of the fastest growing installers of residential and small commercial solar panel systems in the mid-Atlantic – has spread solar to the rooftops of many homes and businesses across Virginia and is on pace to complete 500 new solar installations throughout the region in 2010.

Rhonda and Noel Eldridge of Vienna in Northern Virginia hired Astrum to install a 5.425 kW solar system on their roof in 2009, allowing them to save an estimated $635 on energy costs in the first year alone.  Not only will the Eldridges continue to accrue savings on energy usage each year, but they will also see the value of their home rise as a result of their solar installation.  According to the Appraisal Journal, homeowners can increase the value of their home by $20,000 for every $1,000 reduction in annual operating costs from energy efficiency.

For more information about Astrum Solar or incentives for residential and commercial solar installation, visit www.astrumsolar.com.