Wise County’s future with nuclear energy looks different than it did four years ago.
Many locals felt left out of the equation when then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin stood on a former coal mine and pitched Southwest Virginia as the place to site small modular reactors, a feeling that continued when seven possible sites were later identified without a public survey.
“The way that the nuclear rollout was done here in the region was really done backwards,” said Wally Smith, a biology professor at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. “They’re now doing what should have been done four years ago.”
Smith was appointed to an advisory committee in January for Wise County’s ongoing microreactor feasibility study. Microreactors are compact nuclear reactors that could produce up to 20 megawatts of thermal energy (none have been built in the U.S. yet).
The study, funded by a $100,000 grant from the Go Virginia Region 1 Council and led by the Virginia Innovative Nuclear Hub, is wrapping up, with a final report to be released in December. On Thursday, Jeff Whitt, executive director of the hub, and Brian Falin, director of the county’s industrial development authority, reviewed results from prior public engagement and outlined what’s to come in the final report, which will be available to the public.
This study has not looked at a specific site for microreactors, both Falin and Whitt said at the public meeting, though the original application for funding included identifying a prospective site — and four of the seven possible sites in the last nuclear feasibility study were in Wise County.
The final report will instead offer guidance for Wise County in future decision-making, including energy demand, siting, costs, economic impact and community compatibility. It also will offer feedback for different kinds of new energy generation, including wind and solar.
“There was a big misconception that these types of projects were a lot further along,” Falin said during the question-and-answer portion of the meeting. “These projects are not here. We are trying to prepare for the projects to be here.”
Community feedback has been assessed through two input sessions in May, which had about 60 people total, and two surveys, which drew almost 500 responses. A community committee including Smith offered feedback on the survey structure, he said.
On Thursday, about 25 people showed up to the ballroom in the Inn at Wise, where Whitt and Falin presented from a PowerPoint and took questions at the end.
Results of public engagement showed that the highest priorities for people when it comes to future nuclear development are “safety and well-being” and “governance and public trust.” Within these themes, protecting the environment and public health, transparency in decision-making and opportunities for public participation ranked highly, Whitt said.
About 50% of respondents said there is no support for nuclear energy, which was consistent across the outreach phases, Whitt said. There is slightly more support for new energy generation as a whole, though people want more information on those options, and very little support for data centers as a potential recipient for future power generation.
Employment and economic development came in as the highest perceived benefits, he said, including opportunities for tax revenue and more affordable energy for residents and businesses. Benefits should come down to the local level, responses said, including permanence and access when it comes to jobs.
Protecting local water resources, greater public involvement and a satisfactory nuclear waste plan would help change some people’s minds who are opposed, the surveys noted.
The study could be used as a model across Virginia, officials said, but also is unique when it comes to siting considerations in Wise County. The mountainous terrain and mining history mean large portions of the county would not be conducive to nuclear development, Falin said.
Future nuclear or new energy would most likely be exported because the county does not have the demand for the power, Falin said, but added that he hopes there are development opportunities in the county to use the power here. He also assured the public that future projects would not be funded with county dollars — one of his biggest priorities when it comes to any future economic development is building a commercial tax base, he added.
Survey responses showed trust was low across the board for local government, state government and new technology developers. Smith said he thought the study was a step toward restoring some of it.
“It seems like folks are really interested in listening to people here,” Smith said. “I hope there’s a lesson to earn trust on the front end rather than building it back [later].”
Sharon Fisher, president of the Clinch Coalition, a local environmental organization, said she was pleasantly surprised at the detail provided on community engagement a day after the meeting.
At the same time, “it was a damning report for nuclear energy and data centers in Wise County,” Fisher said, “which shouldn’t be surprising because the constituents have been telling them that for four years.”
