![]() ![]() there's also high hopes for the technology: At least another eight have launched feasibility studies, according to federal energy officials.Īnd back in Washington D.C. ![]() Virginia is among at least eight states pursuing a small reactor. Political leaders see opportunities to boost regional economies and to get a piece of the billions of dollars in subsidies for generating "advanced nuclear" power available through the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act. The state is among several to either lift such a ban or pass a law encouraging development of small nuclear reactors over the last few years. It was only a year ago that nuclear power was banned in West Virginia, under a state law intended to protect the coal industry. This would keep us in the forefront of the energy business. "If you put a nuclear plant someplace like that, it is not going to be near anybody's backyard. "See that hilltop over there?" said Michael Hatfield, a former coal company engineer who is now the administrator for Wise County. ![]() Communities that previously rejected nuclear power as unsafe or a threat to the coal industry are now clamoring to be a part of what might be branded nuclear 2.0. More than 300 retired and operating coal plants in the United States are good candidates for a nuclear conversion, according to a recent Department of Energy report that has touched off a frenzy of activity. "No massive cooling towers, miles of concrete, expansive evacuation zones," writes the Washington Post, describing modular nuclear reactors instead as "space-age plants that can be small enough to fit in a large backyard," using "downsized" reactors like the ones on nuclear-powered submarines.Īnd America's coal country "is a ripe target for this experiment, with infrastructure that can be repurposed, capable workforces and communities eager to reclaim prominence in the energy economy."
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