By Kevin Mooney
Youngkin offers up nuclear power as an innovative solution in the run-up to the November election
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the Republican incumbent in Virginia, warns that the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) will drastically raise utility rates due to its overreliance on “green energy.” Unless the Virginia General Assembly steps in to lighten the regulatory load in the energy sector, an “impending train wreck” in the form of rising utility bills will remain in motion, according to a statement from the commonwealth’s energy director.
Youngkin points to the VCEA—enacted under his predecessor in 2020—as the primary culprit behind projected increases in utility bills. Known as the “Virginia Green New Deal,” the VCEA is laced with green energy mandates that are expected to become more costly in the absence of Youngkin’s veto pen.
The Virginia Power Grid Hangs in the Balance
But there’s still time for Virginia to cut a different path in line with Youngkin’s “all-of-the-above” approach to energy policy, which includes nuclear power. Glenn Davis, the Virginia Department of Energy director, points to the Commonwealth Fusion System’s (CFS) planned commercial fusion plant at the James River Industrial Park as a prime example of the kind of initiatives policymakers should pursue. The CFS plant is poised to become the first grid-scale commercial fusion power outfit of its kind anywhere in the world. In an exclusive statement to Restoration News, Davis said:
Virginia is leading the way in energy innovation, especially nuclear, as the home to the world’s first commercial fusion reactor. This plant is just one piece of a much larger energy plan to meet the 6.5% growth in demand Virginia is expecting as we continue to see a soaring increase in jobs and investment. Fusion has been talked about for generations and now is becoming a reality, right here in Virginia, with not only a plant but also an innovation hub. Under Governor Youngkin’s leadership, Virginia has embraced all-American, all-of-the-above power and is front and center in an energy and power renaissance that will power the Commonwealth with safe, secure, reliable, and affordable energy for years to come. Unfortunately, while the Youngkin administration has been working arduously to give Virginians relief on their energy bills, the Virginia Clean Economy Act is about to cause utility bills to skyrocket, with a projected compliance cost exceeding $5 billion over the next ten years, beginning with bill increases this September. For four years, Governor Youngkin has warned of this impending train wreck, but General Assembly Democrats have refused to address it.
The outcome of this year’s gubernatorial race will likely determine the trajectory of energy costs for Virginia residents. That’s because Abigail Spanberger has a history of supporting Green New Deal-type policies—that was evident during her time in Congress. Her voting record shows she supported extending a moratorium on drilling off Virginia’s coast. Spanberger also voted against prohibiting bans on gas stoves and gas-powered cars, and she opposed ordering the government to issue all federal permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which runs through Virginia.
As the Democratic candidate for governor, Spanberger has also expressed support for having Virginia rejoin a carbon tax scheme known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI. By contrast, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, her Republican opponent, supported Youngkin’s decision to withdraw from RGGI. Earle-Sears is also running on a platform of lowering living costs.
Stephen D. Haner, a senior fellow for environment and energy policy at the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, expects an almost 50% increase for Virginia ratepayers within the next two years. Haner bases this forecast on an analysis of the rate increase applications Dominion Energy—the Virginia public utility—submitted earlier this year to the State Corporation Commission, the regulatory authority overseeing utilities.
The 1,000-kilowatt hour monthly bill was about $116 just before VCEA was implemented. Haner expects pending price increases to take this amount to about $170 in 2027, with VCEA compliance costs the biggest component of this increase.
From here, the news gets even worse as Haner envisions a scenario where Virginia experiences power blackouts. PJM, the regional trading entity, issued a statement in its “Summer Outlook 2025” document of particular concern to energy policy analysts. The current season marks the first time that available generation capacity may fall short of required reserves in an extreme planning scenario that would result in an all-time PJM peak load of more than 166,000 MW, according to the PJM statement. Put another way, the VCEA mandates on wind and solar could further strain a power grid that is already under stress.
Nuclear power could be part of the solution. Virginia already has the Surry Nuclear Power Station located in southeastern Virginia, on the south bank of the James River across from Jamestown, and the North Anna Power Station in Louisa County.
Youngkin is set to leave office in January, since the Virginia governor is limited to just one consecutive term under state law. He has been a consistent opponent of the VCEA and is pursuing court action to keep Virginia out of RGGI.
With the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates continuing to refuse to take action, the approaching gubernatorial race could decide the fate of the power grid in Virginia.
This article originally appeared at Restoration News
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So what is the story about Commonwealth Fusion System’s (CFS) planned commercial fusion plant at the James River Industrial Park?
I was not aware that anyone in the world had demonstrated the feasibility of producing fusion energy via a pilot scale plant, let alone committing to building an actual utility scale production plant.
Is this real?
Is it real? No way! Either Youngkin and his people in Virginia state government have fallen for the fusion scam hook line and sinker — along with hundreds if not thousands of others — or else they are knowingly deceiving the public with this line of fusion BS for political gain.
Sure it’s real. It’s just perpetually 10 years away.
At least it has got closer since I always thought it was 20 years away.
I am reserving my opinion to see how events unfold. Yes, with beer and popcorn.
Where is a working prototype of a fusion reactor? What is wrong with fission? I thought there was a traveling wave reactor that could run extended period of time without refueling.
“Fusion has been talked about for generations and now is becoming a reality, right here in Virginia….”
Depends on how you define “now”.
Not is a reality, but becoming. It’s been that way for half a century or more.
Now: They are constructing the facilities buildings and putting up the fences.
Weird- since they aren’t going to be doing any fusion anytime soon- so why do that construction work?
Ah yes, nuclear fusion. The current version of the perpetual motion machine. With a little digging I suspect this is another government subsidy grift.
With respect to Virginia, I have a suggestion. How about they disconnect from the regional bulk transmission grid and run the state as an isolated system. Can’t lean on your neighbors who still burn that nasty coal and natural gas when the wind dies and the sun goes down. Love to see how that works out. Perhaps they could take a lesson from Spain or Portugal. But then again you can’t fix stupid.
‘With respect to Virginia, I have a suggestion. How about they disconnect from the regional bulk transmission grid and run the state as an isolated system. Can’t lean on your neighbors who still burn that nasty coal and natural gas when the wind dies and the sun goes down.’
PJM is a pretty mixed bag politically, with a lot of its load arising from some of the nuttiest blue states in the Union. VA does burn coal and gas, which probably keeps the lights on other states. Youngkin has done a heroic job of standing in the breach, but is term limited. While Lt. Gov Earle-Sears is highly capable, she’s going to get hugely outspent at the same time the Democrats surge their support among the up-regulated Federal workers that live in Northern VA.
The Virginia’s electricity imports are exceeded by only California. Trying to go it alone would not work and would be more expensive.
Apparently yes, the nuclear fusion plant is (or will be) real, and is slated to be operational in the early 2030’s. It is being pushed as “clean energy”, and is receiving some government funding and/or tax incentives. Even so, I think this is a win. Time will tell.
More here: https://www.grpva.com/news/commonwealth-fusion-systems-to-build-worlds-first-commercial-fusion-power-plant-in-chesterfield-virginia/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=2057512294
Hopefully it is.
But then is this just “five years away is the new ten years away” from fusion becoming a reality?
I wouldn’t doubt there will likely be delays. Always seem to be.
And with delays, of course, more cost overruns requiring more funding.
If Virginia wants nuclear they should build a Small Scale Modular Nuclear assembly line factory:
SMRs at Scale — America’s Blueprint for Nuclear Energy Dominance
By Dennis Sandberg, Retired Oil & Gas Corrosion Control Specialist
Former Energy Development & Government Relations
Summary:
America can mass-produce 1,200 small modular reactors (SMRs) annually using an assembly-line model inspired by Tesla. This strategy could deliver a 68% increase in electricity output, slash energy costs, and end dependence on intermittent sources.
The Vision:
Picture Tesla’s giga-factories—for nuclear. With NuScale and Oklo each producing 6,000 units by 2040, we’d add 848,000 MW of steady baseload power annually. It’s bold, but manufacturing precedent makes it feasible.
Industrial Reality:
Auto makers built 3.8 million vehicles in 2024. SMRs are heavier, but scalable: 1,200 units per year = 840,000 tons—just 11% of current vehicle tonnage.
Economic Edge:
Funding Framework:
A $30 billion launch—less than a quarter of Ukraine aid—could be funded through federal grants, private equity (cue Elon), and Wall Street scaling.
Why Musk? Because this demands bold leadership, sharp branding, and industrial speed. It’s a Tesla moment for nuclear.
Transatlantic Momentum:
In July 2025, the UK and Czech Republic signed a strategic pact to co-develop SMR factories, training centers, and R&D hubs. With Rolls-Royce SMR and ČEZ leading the charge, they’re setting the pace for fleet deployment and localized manufacturing across Europe. The U.S. must match their urgency—by forging reactors at home, not outsourcing to Korea.
Conclusion:
Mass-produced SMRs are the bridge to resilience and global leadership. What we need isn’t miracles—it’s the will to build boldly and domestically. Let’s manufacture the future—before someone else does.
SMALL MODULAR REACTORS
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/small-modular-reactors
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SMRs sounds good, but the electricity cost/kWh would be at least 2 times gas fired CCGT plants.
Such plants are up to 60% efficient, have very low CO2/kWh.
.
It would take at least 5 to 8 years to build SMRs at a rate of say 50 units per year, because the US no longer has the thousands of educated and trained nuclear engineering professionals capable of designing any nuclear plants.
The US lost that capability after Three Mile Island in March, 1979, more than 45 years ago.
.
Also, the US has not enough working-age people who 1) know how to do more complicated stuff, 2) care enough to do it, 3) have the work ethic and mental discipline, or 4) are otherwise inspired to make them selves useful.
Factories have 400,000 unfilled jobs, but there are few skilled, ambitious people to take them.
People have weird expectations; they want to make big bucks doing nothing.
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The US has a total lack of Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics (STEM) professionals who are in high places to call the shots.
The US has been filling the shortfall with Chinese, Indian, etc., STEM folks.
The vacuum at the top was filled by lawyer/liberal arts/enviro functionaries who know next to nothing, except obstruction; Hochul, Newsom, etc., are demagogue-style examples.
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At present, no country is set up to produce, say 50 SMRs per year, at 200 MW each.
China, Russia, South Korea, and the US, with large command/control economies, would be the only countries able set up the required A-to-Z infrastructures.
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A 500 MW (2 units at 250 MW each) CCGT power plant can be built in two years, at a turnkey cost of $2000/kW.
New York State has finally agreed to allow the building of the gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to New England.
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If four countries were building 50 SMRs/y each, it would require:
.
Increased uranium mining,
Processing the uranium into fuel bundles,
Constructing factories to produce components and subassemblies,
Constructing factories for assembling the final units near harbors.
Shipping the assembled unis to the site, likely by ship or barge,
Selection and preparation of the site near harbors,
Adding the remaining balance of plant systems,
Plant test operation of each subsystem,
Connecting the plant to the grid, with switchyard,
Test operation of the entire plant,
Commissioning the plant to produce electricity at design output
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AI systems require lots of steady electricity
Each major AI system should be required to have its own power plant
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By definition, weather-dependent, variable/intermittent, grid-disturbing, heavily subsidized, expensive wind and solar systems do not qualify.
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/high-cost-kwh-of-w-s-systems-foisted-onto-a-brainwashed-public-1
NuScale has NRC design approval for the cookie cutter identical 77 MW reactors to ship on semi-trailers to the job site for plug and play. A handful of design engineers can tweak the design for the next few decades (lack of design engineers is a non-issue). NuScale has mock-up control rooms at several universities and training centers both here and abroad.(operating training is a non-issue).
Yes, CCGT here in the U.S is ,less than half the cost of SMR and will stay that way until a large scale assembly line factory is producing 100 or so per year. But most countries don’t have the natural gas reserves that we do and the export market will be lucrative while we gradually phase in SMR over the next several decades.
Yes, we’ll need to first rely on uranium from Canada and reactor forgings from South Korea. But in a decade we can be fully domestic. It’s all about the will. The business model of the 50 years that says mine and manufacture nothing and instead import everything from China is unsustainable.
Well let them hit the wall at top speed…they might learn or not…
“Wer den Schrott hat braucht für den Schaden nicht zu sorgen”
German “wisdom” from waaay back in the days.
(who has the scrap metal doesn’t have to care for the damage that caused it )…somehow translated
Wind and solar can’t replace fossil fuel and nuclear, everybody knows that. Stop wasting our time money and resources on projects that don’t work. Fossil fuel and nuclear are the gold standard for energy production, everybody knows that. Politicians, academics, activists and NGOs should be held accountable and severely punished for lying to us and causing us to waste so much on their cult religion.
Governor Youngkin announced the plant last December saying ““This is an historic moment for Virginia and the world at large, “Commonwealth Fusion Systems is not just building a facility, they are pioneering groundbreaking innovation to generate clean, reliable, safe power, and it’s happening right here in Virginia. We are proud to be home to this pursuit to change the future of energy and power.” Do people think he’s wrong?
I think he is wrong. Repeating what I said to Duane above, either Youngkin and his people in Virginia state government have fallen for the fusion scam hook line and sinker — along with hundreds if not thousands of others — or else they are knowingly deceiving the public with this line of fusion BS for political gain.
I was puzzled by mention of Commonwealth Fusion Systems. So did some quick
research.
To my amazement, globally there are now 50 VC funded private fusion startups that have collectively raised $6.7 billion!
I researched the leading US 4. All have fancy ‘technology buzz’, and none have yet produced any fusion at all, let alone at requisite sustainable net energy gain.
PT Barnum said there is a sucker born every minute. Appears true in the fusion VC world, also.
I’m sure AI will help them with their ventures.
/sarc
My research indicates that Helion, number 2 on your list has the “best” prospect of the four listed:
Helion website:
Helium-3 is also produced as a result of deuterium-deuterium fusion. Helion will produce helium-3 by fusing deuterium in its fusion generators utilizing a patented high-efficiency closed-fuel cycle
Helion’s new process means we can produce helium-3 ourselves.
Today (2024), Helion produces a very small amount of helium-3. In future systems, we will increase helium-3 output to be used in our fuel cycle..
The helium bubble: Prospects for 3He-fuelled nuclear fusion – ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772828523000158
3He fusion is much harder to achieve. We show that this technology, if demonstrated, is most likely to only emerge as a second or third generation of fusion power plants and given the current schedule for fusion demonstration and deployment, is unlikely to appear this century.
MIT has several research projects that potentially contribute, not just the superconductors.
I’ve read some of them. They pass the smell test (no bullshit) but that does not mean they can be realized in practical form.
I am keeping an open mind.
The challenges are great. If we can keep politics out of it, the chances of success increase.
From the article: “Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears”
I like this woman! She would make a great governor.