West Virginia earlier this year was named a late-breaking finalist for a federally-designated nuclear hub and then withdrew from consideration over the sensitive question of handling nuclear waste.
West Virginia officials repealed a quarter-century-old ban on nuclear power plant construction in February 2022, and so now the state is considering where to go from here.
Delegate Bob Fehrenbacher, R-Wood, noted that West Virginia has made a commitment “to basically triple our energy output by 2050. So, nuclear energy can be a part of that portfolio, as our other energy options are.”
State lawmakers who gathered for interim meetings heard a panel discussion of about an hour and a half about how West Virginia could proceed with harnessing nuclear energy.
The panel was led by Fehrenbacher and featured expert guests Shane Lies, vice president of nuclear operations at American Electric Power, Glenn Davis of Davis Energy and Infrastructure Strategy Group, who is former energy secretary for the State of Virginia, and Emil Abram, vice president of business development for Dominion Energy.
“We had recent discussions about the Lifecycle Innovation Campus. Is that in your picture?” Fehrenbacher asked.
Despite the final outcome for West Virginia on that possibility, Lies expressed optimism.
“I think the the biggest thing, for me, when I think about lifecycle campus and endorsing it is it shows that the state is open to nuclear. Now, building new generation is complicated enough. Some of those other aspects of the nuclear campus will even make that more complicated. But I think it’s an opportunity for a state to say no, we are really committed to this.”
Davis said “West Virginia is an ideal place, but there’s work to be done in West Virginia to get to that point,” adding that the announcement that West Virginia was a finalist led to significant attention in itself.
He added, “That opportunity to lead in that is still there. Maybe not as the sixth state. That opportunity, unfortunately, it’s gone away and a huge missed opportunity.” But he said, “I think there’s a huge opportunity for West Virginia to position itself to be able to do what the nuclear campus wanted to do.”
Abram said what’s important is not necessarily a big splash, but instead laying the groundwork for success in the nuclear sector.
“West Virginia is not only recognized as a historic energy producer, but may become a competitive center for advanced nuclear development, fuel reprocessing, manufacturing, and still being an exporter of power in the PJM region,” he said.
“And lastly, I think that you know the ultimate success is not necessarily an announcement, right, about a project here or there, but whether the state has created a responsible, durable option that companies like ours can proceed with projects and that announcements can happen.”
The expert panelists said the legislature should publicly signal the state wants to lead in nuclear energy. They also suggested working with utilities on legislation that enables projects while protecting ratepayers and utility finances.
“Are we primed and ready? Do we have any things that we ought to be turning our attention to?” Fehrenbacher asked.
“The eyes are on West Virginia,” Davis responded, referring to the state’s long history as an energy producer.
He said that goes hand in hand with the proliferation of data centers, which have also turned into a controversial political issue. One of the core objectives of the nuclear lifecycle hubs was to provide power for and potentially co-locate with data centers.
“West Virginia is right now has a spotlight on it when it comes to data centers,” Davis said. “And a huge increase in data centers in West Virginia is going to make it extremely valuable and attractive for the production of SMRs,” referring to small modular nuclear reactors.