Several activists in the SWVA Nuclear Watch grassroots movement attended the nuclear energy workshop at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise on Aug. 13. Hosted by the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium, Executive Director April Wade said the purpose was education and to promote nuclear energy to policymakers and stakeholders.
On Sept. 10, David Reid, Virginia House Delegate representing Loudoun County, wrote a Cardinal News op-ed titled “Nuclear Energy 101 — road trip to Wise.” I commend Delegate Reid for using his trip to far Southwest Virginia to geographically and metaphorically identify challenges faced in Virginia to meet the increasing electricity demand for data centers.
As the delegate reiterated throughout his op-ed, small modular reactors (SMRs) are at least 10 to 15 years out, stating “there is currently no approved SMR design in the U.S., and there is no commercial SMR under construction.” According to the NEA Small Modular Reactor SMR Dashboard, there are currently 127 designs worldwide in various stages of development.
Due to the heat created in data centers from the large number of computers, there are different methods under development for cooling. The SWVA coalfields are being marketed to use water in abandoned mines. SMRs on abandoned mine land and using mine water for cooling leaves many residents with questions and concerns that are not being addressed.
Mr. Reid introduced himself to me at the meeting during the morning break. I assume this was because I questioned one of the forum’s panelists lauding the large tax revenues Loudoun County was receiving from data centers. Data centers were not on the day’s agenda, only nuclear energy, so this was an “off the cuff” comment.
My comment and question to Brian Smith with Idaho National Labs was that Loudoun County (known as Data Center Alley) has around 200 data centers and a personal property tax rate of $4.15 per $100 assessed. How many data centers would Wise County need to anywhere approach Loudoun County’s revenues? Unable to answer the question, Mr. Smith finally said Alaska had two data centers and that number was not enough for sufficient revenue.
During my conversation with Delegate Reid, I told him that Wise County had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), along with surrounding counties and the City of Norton, to have a personal property tax rate for data centers of 24 cents/$100 assessed. He was astounded that any jurisdiction would set a tax at such an unbelievably low rate. For the record, InVestSWVA, a marketing entity established by the Tobacco Commission, applauded this rate in an announcement with the headline: “Southwest Virginia leaders announce lowest regional data center equipment tax rate in the Commonwealth.”
I asked Mr. Reid if Loudoun County residents liked having so many data centers. He replied that they love getting their roads paved. In my research, I found all are not pleased with Dominion Energy building high-voltage transmission lines across populated neighborhoods. A Loudoun County community group, the Ashland Coalition Against Power Lines, has stated their mission is “to advocate for responsible energy infrastructure development that prioritizes the health and safety of our communities.” [Disclosure: Dominion is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.]
Another issue facing “Data Center Alley,” as reported in the online nonprofit news organization Loudoun Now on July 10, 2025, is that Loudoun County’s financial management staff are recommending a rollback of taxes on data centers to “rein in the growth of the government.” Data centers provide 38% of the county’s general fund revenue, but it could reach 60% as the national and state’s economies slow down and county growth rates stabilize. Primary dependence on one industry is a hard lesson that has been learned by Southwest Virginia’s coal counties.
There were approximately 80 people in attendance at the invitation-only Aug. 13 “workshop,” including members of the Wise County Board of Supervisors, LENOWISCO officials, UVA Wise administrators, including the chancellor, and the president of Mountain Empire Community College. These local leaders played no role in the day’s presentations as the promotion of nuclear energy was directed to them.
Reid called it a “fact-filled community forum on nuclear energy.” However, as stated, it was a heavy dose of nuclear energy promotion. One of the panelists said Wise County was the fourth stop in their event across Virginia. (Note: It has just been announced there will be a series of 1.5-hour webinars, apparently replacing the 7-hour, in-person meetings.)
Although stated as being educational, Wade told a local reporter that the meeting was “off the record,” denied a request to professionally film the event and stopped attendees taking photos and videos. A copy of the various slide presentations were provided to attendees a week later. Surprisingly, speakers emphasized the important of community involvement and building trust in their presentations. SWVA Nuclear Watch was formed to make local residents aware of the lack of transparency and community involvement in the planning, funding and development of bringing SMRs to the coalfields.
Attendees were provided several opportunities to ask questions, and SWVA Nuclear Watch activists asked probing questions. Eight of us had recently spent a weekend in discussions with staff members of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), a national information and networking center for citizens and environmental activists. Tim Judson, executive director; Diane D’Arrigo, Radioactive Waste Project director; and Denise Jakobsberg, administrator, engaged in extensive discussions with us. Much was learned, and resources were provided that challenge the false promises of the nuclear industry.
At the Nuclear Energy 101 event, Kathy Selvage, a Wise County retired banker, believing public discourse could build trust, asked for financial transparency. She requested information about financing and liabilities for SMR construction, storage and closure. Selvage’s concern is that without offsetting financial assets, the risks will accrue to taxpayers, ratepayers, our children and grandchildren. The response from one panelist was, “There’s risk in everything.”
In Reid’s oped he called the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) “the gold standard for regulation and safety.” I was surprised to see him reiterate this talking point. I pointed out at the meeting that the independence of the NRC had been taken away by the current administration — firing senior NRC staff and placing Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employees in key agency roles to cut budgets, all to reduce safety regulations and fast track the development of nuclear energy. Patrick White, who lists himself as a fission and fusion technology and regulation expert with the Clean Air Task Force, said he agreed with me and his organization, a promoter of nuclear energy, was fighting these changes.
The last presentation was “Challenges of New Nuclear Energy,” and included the issue of creating and storing radioactive waste. It needs to be said that this is one of the greatest concerns of SWVA coalfield residents and one that the cadre of state and local officials and special interests refuse to discuss. Lauren Albrecht, a Wise County concerned resident, inquired about their slide of putting casks of radioactive waste into the ground. She asked if that should be done on abandoned mine land, with local geologic conditions of mine shafts and karst, “a honeycomb.” Mr. White said NO! I wondered if the national speakers were aware of what was being planned here.
“Our challenge,” Reid wrote, “is how we bridge the gap over the next 10-15 years with the most cost-effective, most ratepayer-friendly and cleanest possible energy sources necessary to power our ever-growing, highly interconnected, modern economy.” Mr. White had dismissed solar energy as unreliable. We are now learning to bridge the gap; Wise County is considering using natural gas plants until SMRs are available.
Solar is a renewable energy that is clean, unlike the toxic-producing waste of fission energy and unhealthy pollution of gas plants. Solar energy is produced at a much lower cost than nuclear and can come on line within a couple of years. Imagine if the billions of dollars the taxpayers are paying to develop SMRs were put into more battery storage for solar and wind. Now, we are losing renewable subsidies with the current administration. It may realistically be decades before commercial SMR nuclear energy is available and possibly too late to have an impact on climate change.
SWVA Nuclear Watch supports economic development that is diversified, does not threaten the health and safety of the people and land, and invests in our communities rather than extracting our resources and exploiting the workforce. We call upon all politicians, Republicans, Democrats and independents, to take the long view rather than their short-term gains.
Sharon Fisher is a Wise County resident and a coordinator of the SWVA Nuclear Watch grassroots movement.