Virginia is Poised to Lead the World in the Return of Nuclear Energy Production

You can thank our military for some of today’s commercial products. Microwave technology started as a radar to locate World War II enemies until a research engineer realized it could heat food when his candy bar melted during an experiment. The internet evolved from a remotely used information sharing system to conduct intelligence transfer detached from a physical command center. Today, yet another defense development is about to impact our lives - small modular nuclear reactors (SMR’s). 

With the advent of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and sprawling data center growth, energy forecasters predict outsized power demand with only modest supply increases from existing generation options. Recognizing this and seeking more renewable sources, tech giants are scrambling. In solidarity, digital barons have recently thrown their weight behind nuclear power as a solution, specifically SMR’s. 

Last March, Amazon bought a nuclear-fueled data center with one of the U.S.’s largest nuclear plants providing dedicated power. In September, Microsoft struck a twenty-year deal to buy Three Mile Island’s entire power output for its data center energy needs. Oracle followed suit by announcing a data center design requiring over a gigawatt of electricity powered by three SMR’Ss. In October, Google purchased power from a fleet of SMR’s to meet its data centers’ energy demands. 

These investments place the Commonwealth in an enviable position. Having overcome many previous regulatory and cost barriers, Virginia now holds several competitive advantages. A leading one is the presence of military and commercial developers and manufacturers of reactor components supported by an established supply chain and logistics nexus. Being home to the world’s largest US Navy installation, it hosts a fleet of SMR powered vessels. While Virginia is recognized as the globe’s leading data center, it is also where more reactors have been built and safely operated too. 

America’s Nuclear Navy is the largest enduring organization of its kind anywhere, with an unmatched 75-year record of safe power generation. Their use is common, with sailors living, working, eating and sleeping for decades in close proximity to reactors. In fact, there has never been a single reactor accident, thanks to a resolute discipline to reactor safety. As a December 2019 Forbes article noted, our Navy is indeed ‘Masters of Modular Nuclear Reactors.’ And today, Navy nuclear vets oversee Dominion facilities at Surry and North Anna. 

SMR’s acceptance and rapid expansion offer us a compelling carbon-free energy solution from a scalable power source immune to climate events or market fluctuations. And thanks to its military and industry experience, Virginia could become the nucleus of this game-changing transformation. 

Todd Nichols is a retired US Navy Captain who served four decades in the US Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program first as an enlisted operator, then as a Nuclear Power Officer where he supervised, operated and maintained seven different design nuclear power plants among nuclear training facilities, submarines and aircraft carriers. He serves as Deputy Executive Director of the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance, a non-profit regional advocacy organization whose mission is to attract, retain and grow military and federal missions to the region.