Area Will See Benefits from Nuclear Center

The News & Advance
Published: August 4, 2008

Research into nuclear energy has to be an important part of America’s plan to become less dependent on foreign oil as an energy source.

That research effort took a significant step forward last week when the state’s tobacco commission approved a nearly $7.6 million grant for construction of a nuclear research center in Bedford County. The grant will provide money for Lynchburg’s Center for Advanced Engineering and Research (CAER) to construct a 25,000 square-foot building at the New London Business and Technology Center on U.S. 460 west of Lynchburg.

The Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission also approved $8 million for a building for biofuels research in Pittsylvania County. That could ultimately create new cash crops that would offset losses from tobacco farming across Southside.

The Bedford site is the only one involving nuclear research and will provide educational opportunities for the Lynchburg region. CAER currently contracts with Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia and Liberty University for engineering expertise.

Bob Bailey, executive director of the center, said the new facility would create the opportunity for college-level faculty to locate in the region. Among other things, that would provide more educational opportunities for them and for students interested in pursuing engineering research.

With the presence of such nuclear giants as Areva and Babcock & Wilcox Co. in the area, nuclear energy research is no stranger here. Areva executives have announced plans to hire up to 500 engineers so the company can do detailed design work for its next generation nuclear power reactor.

The nuclear research center takes on added significance considering that nuclear energy — particularly in the Lynchburg area — is part of the Virginia Energy Plan released last September by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.

The plan’s goals call for business expansion and more research into alternative fuels for transportation and nuclear technology, among other things. The plan points out that nuclear energy is one of Virginia’s largest fuel imports after oil and that about a third of the state’s electric power is produced by nuclear plants at Surry in Surry County and North Anna in Louisa County.

“Virginia faces a challenge coordinating these varied energy research and development activities,” the energy plan says, and the state should create “an energy R&D roadmap” that could lead to investments and competitive bidding for federal research projects.

The plan cites Lynchburg’s current endeavors in nuclear energy and research, saying that goals for energy economic development start with support for “existing businesses wishing to make substantial new investments in energy activities, such as around the nuclear business cluster in Lynchburg.”

The plan also mentions the Center for Advanced Engineering and Research, noting that it needs long-term financial support “to help solve the problems of a growing shortage of trained nuclear-industry workers.”

The state tobacco commission’s grant to CAER for its new facility will clearly help the state meet the goal of training nuclear engineers for the future. Those engineers will be charged not only with providing alternative sources of energy for Virginia and the nation, but they will also face the task of assuring the safety of nuclear power.

That’s a huge challenge. The next steps of taking it on could very well begin in the classrooms of the center’s new building in Bedford County. That will mean money well spent for the future of energy in America.