Babcock & Wilcox Company Applauds Formation of Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium

Cam Abernethy — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:50:00 GMT

The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) today announced its enthusiastic support for the Commonwealth of Virginia’s creation of the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority and its stated mission of making the Commonwealth a national and global leader in nuclear energy.

“We plan to continue that investment by working with the Consortium to create jobs and develop new technologies.”

“B&W applauds Governor Bob McDonnell and the Virginia General Assembly for their initiative and vision in creating the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium,” said E. James Ferland, President and Chief Executive Officer of B&W. “Our roots run deep in Virginia, where we’ve had nuclear research, engineering and manufacturing operations for more than five decades. B&W stands ready to support the Consortium as we seek to expand our nuclear technology footprint in the state.”

In a statement on the legislation, Governor McDonnell explained, "The Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium is an important tool that will bring together the public and private sectors to advance Virginia's position as the energy capital of the East Coast. By strengthening the working relationship between Virginia's esteemed institutions of higher education and our many nuclear industry leaders, Virginia will lead in research and development of the next generation of nuclear power generation. I want to thank Senator Jeff McWaters (R-Virginia Beach) and Delegate Scott Garrett (R-Lynchburg) for sponsoring this legislation, which will encourage new investment and job creation in Virginia. I also want to thank the leaders in the nuclear industry, including The Babcock & Wilcox Company, for their support of this important initiative which will create more good-paying job opportunities in the Commonwealth."

B&W employs more than 2,600 people in Virginia. The Company’s subsidiary, Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Operations Group, Inc. (B&W NOG), headquartered in Lynchburg, Va., manufactures naval nuclear reactors for submarines and aircraft carriers.

Also in Lynchburg, Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Energy, Inc, provides components and services to commercial nuclear utility customers.

Under its Babcock & Wilcox mPower, Inc. (B&W mPower) organization, B&W has substantial operations in Lynchburg as well as at the B&W mPower Integrated System Test (IST) Facility in Forest, Va. In the Central Virginia area, B&W employees are playing a major role in the engineering and design of the B&W mPowerTM small modular reactor (SMR) - a scalable, modular, passively safe, advanced light water reactor system. The reactor features a four-year operating cycle without the need for refueling, and is designed to produce clean, zero-emission operations. The mPower reactor was recently selected as the winner of the DOE competitively bid Small Modular Reactor Licensing Technical Support Program. B&W will receive funding that will support accelerated development of its B&W mPower SMR technology.

“Virginia and the investments we’ve made in both people and facilities here will be critical to the development of the B&W mPower reactor,” said Ferland. “We plan to continue that investment by working with the Consortium to create jobs and develop new technologies.”

B&W looks forward to being a part of the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium, together with Virginia’s academic institutions, other government agencies and companies to promote the state’s role as a leader in the development of advanced, safe and reliable nuclear energy technologies.

About B&W

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., The Babcock & Wilcox Company is a leader in clean energy technology and services, primarily for the nuclear, fossil and renewable power markets, as well as a premier advanced technology and mission critical defense contractor. B&W has locations worldwide and employs approximately 12,700 people, in addition to approximately 10,400 joint venture employees. Learn more at www.babcock.com.

Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium - Blog

Babcock & Wilcox Company Applauds Formation of Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium