Part 2 of 2 parts (Please read Part 1 first)
The day after the Governor Youngkin made what appeared to be his off-the-cuff comment to reporters, the Department of Virginia Energy held a public meeting at Mountain Empire Community College in Big Stone Gap. This event was the second public meeting that the SWVA Nuclear Watch group requested of VA Energy. Most of the people attending appeared tired of the presentation and answers to their questions.
As for SWVA Nuclear Watch, their formal response to the governor and all of his utility, corporate and regional economic development allies, charmed and driven by the chance to land federal nuclear subsidies, is clear. The SWVA Nuclear Watch members said that they haven’t trusted the governor to this point and they don’t trust him now. Duane Miller is the LENOWISCO Planning District director. Both he and the governor said that SWVA could still host SMRs, just possibly not the first ones.
There is an uprising among the citizens of Southwest Virginia. They are concerned and getting angry, but their opposition is based on solid research. They use data and facts and the knowledge, experiences and creativity of the people who have been left out of the discussion for far too long by politicians and their special interest donors. A cabal of individuals and organizations in Southwest Virginia are making decisions about people’s lives and livelihoods that is to their gain and the people’s loss. The supporters of SMRs are proclaiming, “There are millions of federal dollars coming down and we want our share.” But the citizens of SWVA want to know where that money is going. To the welfare of the people or to consultants doing their studies, quasi-government authorities with possible conflicts of interest, utility companies who give hundreds of thousands of dollars to the politicians?
Right now, SWVA residents are appealing to the governor to veto a bill passed in the General Assembly that will allow Appalachian Power to pass on SMR design and development costs to their ratepayers (formerly known as customers). These costs will have to be paid even if the nuclear reactors are never put into operation. Governor Youngkin vowed to the audience last week in Tazewell County that he would never raise their taxes. However, his decision to sign House Bill 1491 would essentially be taxing the income of the people. In February of this year Appalachian Power raised residential rates for electricity by ten percent!
This op-ed has been concerned about SMRs. However, the basis for going after federal dollars for them and other unproven energy projects, such as a blue hydrogen hub and a carbon capture & storage facility, is to supply energy for data centers. Data centers require huge amounts of electricity and are not a part of domestic and industrial activity. SWVA Nuclear Watch believes that solar energy is a truly clean, renewable energy source. Solar energy can provide essential electricity and jobs to SWVA without the cost overruns, schedule delays and dangers to be expected from the development of SMRs.