GESS Fall 2025 Energy Lunches

Hosted by Mary Finley-Brook, author of Climate Crisis, Energy Violence, in collaboration with community partners. Pizza provided. 

“What Is the Role of Nuclear Power in Virginia’s Energy Future?”

The Commonwealth is at the epicenter of a nuclear power renaissance. Governor Youngkin has created a Virginia Innovative Nuclear Hub (VIN Hub) with academic and business leaders. Small Module Reactors (SMRs) are proposed to reinvigorate former coal towns of Southwest Virginia, to power data centers in Goochland County and to equip submarines built in Hampton Roads. Meanwhile, the largest unmined uranium deposit in the US, which is now protected by a Pittsylvania County mining moratorium, may come into play as federal policymakers discuss listing uranium as a critical mineral. Current policies and practices make nuclear power essential to understand as Virginia assumes a leading role in this high stakes, expensive industry. As Chesterfield County inches forward to possibly become the site of the world’s first commercial fusion power plant, are you informed about nuclear energy’s role in Virginia’s future?

Sponsored by the Department of Geography, Environment, & Sustainability, the Environmental Studies Program, and the Class of 1992 Fund.