Governor Glenn Youngkin announced on Friday he will propose $10 million in the upcoming budget to create the Virginia Power Innovation Fund for research and development of innovative energy technologies, including nuclear, hydrogen, carbon capture and utilization, and battery storage. The Governor also announced $5 million of this funding will advance the goal laid out in the recently released “all-of-the-above” Virginia Energy Plan, to grow Virginia’s nuclear energy industry by establishing a Virginia Nuclear Innovation Hub (Hub). These funds will also include grants for higher education institutions to study Small Modular Nuclear Reactor (SMR) technology, funding for nuclear workforce development, and additional money for SMR site exploration, including in Southwest Virginia.

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