For those that live in the greater Lynchburg Region, BWXT’s, Delta Start’s, and Framatome’s contributions to powering the nation’s naval assets and electricity generation are widely known.  With rapidly growing demand for electricity, driven by electric vehicles and data centers, a new chapter is unfolding in the legacy of Lynchburg’s rising influence on national and global energy security.

 

Dating back to the 1950s when then Babcock & Wilcox Company fabricated components for the USS Nautilus – the world’s first nuclear powered submarine, the development, innovation, and manufacturing of nuclear technology took root in Lynchburg.  In the early 1960s the Delta Star Electric Division of H.K. Porter Company added a location in Lynchburg to manufacture power transformers, later moving their headquarters here.  This was followed by the establishment of a separate nuclear services company in the late 1980s, born out of a BWXT and Framatome collaboration leading to the creation of AREVA and its North American Headquarters located in Lynchburg.  AREVA would later be rebranded back to Framatome in 2015.

 

Lynchburg sits at a unique crossroads of national defense, nuclear energy servicing, and electric technology manufacturing because of BWXT, Framatome, and Delta Star.  Prior to Covid-19, there were the beginnings of whispers about growing energy demand and the ability to keep pace with baseload projections.  Governor Glenn Youngkin chose Lynchburg to announce his Energy Plan for Virginia in October of 2022, with the goal of deploying the first commercialized Small Modular Reactor (SMR) within 10 years.  But, the clock is ticking with baseload demand and electric rates expected to rise much faster by 2035 than previously forecast.

 

Since that time, all three companies have announced workforce and building expansions, with Delta Star recently announced a second expansion.  In September of 2024 the Lynchburg region hosted representatives from the Canadian Embassy for a Familiarization Tour, led by the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance, focused on our nuclear energy sector.  In November of 2024, American Electric Power announced they would be pursuing the development and construction of a SMR on their Joshua Falls property in Campbell County, VA.  This follows Dominion Energy’s announcement for an SMR by the 2030s on it’s Lake Anna site.

 

Recognizing the concentration of globally leading private sector companies in nuclear energy technology and services in the Lynchburg region, concepts of building out a regional nuclear technology hub have been discussed at different points over the years.  Those discussions increased in 2023, leading off with the federal government’s push for decentralized technology and innovation hubs.  Lynchburg was under consideration based on its existing nuclear energy work.

 

Over the last two quarters, the Lynchburg Region has hosted a Nuclear Energy 101 Workshop led by the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium,  the Atoms for Appalachia meeting led by the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, participated in the Energy Communities Alliance’s Forum in Idaho Falls, ID, and showcased the grand opening of BWXT’s Innovation Campus.  The Lynchburg Region is well positioned to impact national and global energy security for the foreseeable future.