Note: This is written in response to Dwayne Yancey’s recent column on the Old Dominion University State of the Commonwealth report examining regional economic disparities in Virginia.
Dwayne Yancey’s recent column on the ODU report raises important questions about how prosperity is distributed across Virginia. His analysis, along with Cardinal News’ continued focus on regional economic disparities, adds meaningfully to a conversation the commonwealth must continue: thoughtfully, honestly and without regional resentment.
Let me be clear from the outset: I want Northern Virginia to succeed. I want Richmond to grow. I want Hampton Roads to reach its full economic potential. I want every region of Virginia to be economically strong. The commonwealth is better off when all of its regional economic engines are firing on all cylinders. Supporting one region’s success does not require accepting another region’s decline, and that is where the conversation must go next.
The data shows us where Virginia is today. It does not, however, fully explain how we arrived here. For communities like Pittsylvania County, Henry County, Martinsville, Danville and much of Southwest Virginia. The turning point was not abstract or gradual. It was structural. Manufacturing in Southside and coal production in Southwest were the backbone of these regional economies, and trade and energy policy decisions made over several decades accelerated their collapse.
When trade policy in the 1990s, particularly the North American Free Trade Agreement, reshaped global manufacturing, factories did not slowly fade away. They closed, relocated or moved overseas. Entire supply chains vanished, skilled workers were displaced and local tax bases eroded almost overnight.
In Southside Virginia, the impact was immediate and lasting. Furniture and textile manufacturing once defined Martinsville and Henry County, employing thousands and supporting generations of families. In Danville and Pittsylvania County, Dan River Mills was not just an employer; it was an economic anchor. My colleague and mentor, Del. Danny Marshall, often recalls Ross Perot’s warning during the 1992 presidential campaign that NAFTA would create “a giant sucking sound going south.” Del. Marshall says you could stand in Danville or Martinsville and almost hear it as jobs left the region.
Southwest Virginia experienced a parallel shock. Coal production, once a cornerstone of affordable, reliable energy and regional employment, declined rapidly under shifting regulatory and market pressures. As coal jobs disappeared, so did high-wage employment and the stabilizing economic force energy production had long provided, not only to the region but to the commonwealth as a whole.
Unlike other regions that were able to pivot toward government, technology or finance, Southside and Southwest Virginia were left with fewer replacement pathways and limited transition support, often just trying to hold on to what remained. That context matters when evaluating today’s regional disparities.
Meanwhile, Northern Virginia and the Richmond region experienced sustained growth driven in large part by the expansion of government itself: federal agencies, state government, defense contracting, consulting firms and the industries that support them. That growth is real and legitimate, but it is also the result of deliberate policy choices and public investment. Acknowledging that reality is not a criticism; it is necessary to understanding how Virginia’s economic geography evolved.
Rural Virginia has continued to contribute in essential but often overlooked ways. Southside and Southwest Virginia provide the land, host the infrastructure, help grow and raise our food and supply much of the energy that powers the commonwealth from legacy coal production to today’s utility-scale solar facilities and transmission networks. These projects are rarely sited in urban or suburban cores, yet the electricity they generate fuels growth elsewhere. Energy flows outward, while opportunity too often does not flow back.
Pittsylvania County alone has more than 1,440 megawatts of permitted solar capacity. There is more solar generation in Pittsylvania County than in entire states such as Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Kansas and West Virginia. The county accounts for nearly 20% of Virginia’s solar generation. Its output is almost half that of South Carolina and approaches the total generation of Mississippi and Louisiana. Entire communities have effectively become one large solar field, yet the local economic benefit is limited as much of that power is directed to projects outside the region.
Energy policy sits at the center of this imbalance, not just for economic development, but for everyday Virginians. The cost of energy directly affects household budgets, small businesses and fixed-income residents. In rural areas, where incomes are lower and commutes are longer, energy has become one of the fastest-growing monthly expenses. When policy choices increase costs or reduce reliability, those impacts are felt first and most acutely in Southside and Southwest Virginia.
For economic development, energy remains the defining issue. In every serious business recruitment conversation I have, the first questions are always the same: What is the power capacity? What is the power ramp, and how quickly can we get there? Without certainty, projects walk away.
Right now, we could have a data center operating in both counties I represent. These are not speculative proposals. A single major facility could generate more machinery, tools and property tax revenue than the entire annual budget of either Henry or Pittsylvania county. Yet those deals remain unfinished because energy capacity is constrained and state policies limit access to reliable, affordable baseload power.
That reality is especially frustrating because, despite decades of economic challenges, Southern Virginia has done the hard work to prepare for a new chapter. In part, because of targeted state and federal support, the region is now seeing a genuine renaissance of opportunity. Assets like the Berry Hill Megasite and Commonwealth Crossing have positioned Southern Virginia to compete for advanced manufacturing projects that were once out of reach. These sites are not just land and infrastructure. They represent years of planning, investment and local commitment to rebuilding an economy that can support families and communities again. Add to that the fact that our area is reinventing itself through workforce development programs at places like IALR and their ATDM program; NCI, which is working hard to find the programming mix that best moves our region forward; and our excellent community colleges.
The Virginia Clean Economy Act may reflect well-intentioned environmental priorities for some, but its implementation has had real economic consequences for Southside and Southwest Virginia. Restrictions on natural gas and reduced flexibility in the generation mix make it harder for rural regions to compete, especially as energy demand continues to grow and concentrate in Northern Virginia. The result is higher costs for consumers and fewer opportunities for communities that have already absorbed significant economic loss.
I raise these points not to argue against Northern Virginia’s success, but to argue for ALL of Virginia’s long-term strength. Growth cannot be built on the permanent sidelining of entire regions because they can’t fully capitalize on the opportunities available to them. Rural Virginians are not asking for protection or preference. We are asking for the tools to compete, to rebuild what was lost and to participate fully in the future of the commonwealth.
The ODU report provides valuable insight. But a complete picture requires pairing the data with an honest accounting of trade policy, energy policy and government-driven economic concentration. Rural Virginia is already a net giver in many ways that are not captured by any single data set. With the right policies and focus, it can once again be a net financial contributor, just as it was for most of the commonwealth’s history, and that would be good not only for our region but for every region of Virginia.
Moving forward, Virginia needs a more balanced, regionally aware approach. That means modernizing the grid while preserving sufficient reliable baseload power; allowing natural gas and other dependable sources to complement renewables rather than be prematurely sidelined; prioritizing energy availability in regions actively pursuing redevelopment; supporting initiatives like the Blue Ridge Innovation Corridor that connect rural regions to innovation and markets; ensuring communities that host energy infrastructure share directly in its economic benefits; and treating energy affordability as a core policy objective, not an afterthought.
If Virginia is serious about growing together, our economic, energy and trade policies must align so that every region has a realistic chance to compete and succeed.
That is the goal I share with leaders across the commonwealth — and it is the fight I will continue to take on behalf of Southside and Southwest Virginia.
Eric Phillips represents the 48th District in the House of Delegates. He is a Republican.