YORKTOWN — Leadership of Naval Weapons Station Yorktown and Dominion Energy have signed an agreement to work together to build energy resiliency at the station.
Potential projects at the weapons station could include solar farms, turbine energy or a small modular nuclear reactor.
Cpt. Dan Patrick said it has been a goal of his to have more sustainable power sources for the station. Over the next decade, power demand in Virginia is going to increase, so having a diverse source of power is necessary for the station to continue providing weapons support to other military installations across the East Coast, he said. Dominion has forecasted a 5.5% annual demand increase over the next decade and double by 2039.
Dominion Energy and the installation have worked for about 18 months ahead of Friday’s agreement signing to see how a project at NWS Yorktown could fit into long-term energy plans. The first step is a site characterization study, which will determine where and what kind of project would work best in the area. Those typically take six to 12 months, according to Dominion officials.
Patrick pointed to a historic long-term power outage in Tacoma, Washington as evidence of his concerns. In 1929, the city of Tacoma generated much of its electricity by hydroelectric dams on nearby rivers, but after a drought, the city struggled to provide enough power to keep citizens warm that winter. Fort Lewis, an Army base located located 9.1 miles south-southwest of Tacoma, had its barracks go “lights out” at 4 p.m. to help conserve power. Then-President Herbert Hoover sent the Navy’s USS Lexington to power the city for about a month.
“If we don’t take the necessary steps to build reliant and resilient energy sources for the installation community, we clearly become very vulnerable,” he said. “As our country reaffirmed its commitment to energy dominance, it becomes ever clear that what we do with electricity and energy over the next five years will determine our installation’s readiness for the next 50.”
Ed Baine, president of Dominion Energy Virginia, said whichever method is selected would be owned and operated by Dominion. If a nuclear reactor is chosen, he is confident in the company’s ability to handle nuclear facilities safely.
Baine said short-term energy sources for the company to meet growing demand will be gas and renewable energy, but long-term plans for the company will have to include small reactors. In October, the power provider announced a partnership with Amazon to develop a small modular reactor as the utility explores building one at its North Anna Power Station, an existing traditional nuclear power plant in Louisa County. A small reactor is about a third of the size of the Surry Nuclear Power Plant, which is located just across the James River from the weapons station.
On June 3, the York County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution to sponsor a study that would look at potential zoning ordinances regarding small nuclear reactors. Currently, the county’s code does not address reactors at all.
Baine and Patrick said whatever power source is chosen, it will bring benefits on a regional scale.
“Our overall goal and intent is that if something were to happen elsewhere, the base and the community — our major workforce — would have the lights and power on so we can continue without having to worry about the families at home or the local community not being able to work with us,” Patrick said.
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