Virginia Economic Review

When a naval ship is at sea, dozens of critical electronic systems onboard need to operate perfectly, or missions and lives could be in jeopardy. Those systems require consistent power to operate, but the power provided by the ship’s generators is often unreliable.

April Wade is executive director of the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium (VNEC), which represents stakeholders invested in research and development, workforce development, innovation, and advocacy for the nuclear energy industry.

Will Payne is managing partner of economic development firm Coalfield Strategies, the director of InvestSWVA, a public-private partnership aimed at attracting companies to the western portion of Virginia, and an adviser to the Energy DELTA Lab research and development facility in Wise County.

Bob Blue is chair, president, and CEO of Dominion Energy, Inc., an integrated energy utility headquartered in Richmond that operates in 15 states and provides energy to 7 million customers.

According to the U.S.

Transformers are an essential component for maintaining the national electric grid and ensuring continuous power in regions affected by aging components and sensitivity to storms and natural disasters.

His hair and mustache grayed, 74-year-old Mike Quillen is no longer flexible enough to regularly walk the mines of Southwest Virginia, where he started a career that saw him build a company that became the sixth-largest coal supplier in the world — although he does plan to be underground for his 75th birthday.

CVOW — or “sea” and “vow,” if you will — is a fitting acronym for a transformational offshore wind farm. CVOW, or the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, has been in the planning stages for years by Dominion Energy, a state-regulated public electric utility company.

The best way to conceptualize Virginia’s energy ambitions is to look to its past of supporting one of the most power-intensive industries in existence.

After passage of the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) three years ago got the ball rolling toward a cleaner, more productive energy future, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s 2022 Energy Plan has the Commonwealth poised to meet significant needs in the future.

This issue of Virginia Economic Review details the things that represent Virginia and its influence on America’s governance, economy, culture, and norms. Highlights include an A to Z listing of those items and illustrative compendiums of famous Virginians and companies located in the Commonwealth.

Jonathan Zur is president and CEO of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC), a nonprofit organization based in the Richmond area that works with schools, businesses, and communities to promote inclusion.

Virginia has been indispensable since the beginning of its existence. In addition to eight U.S. presidents, the Commonwealth was home to numerous Founding Fathers who helped shape the direction of the country and many civil rights leaders who believed it was capable of more.

When executives at Traditional Medicinals decided to build an East Coast manufacturing and processing operation, they cast a wide net.

Kevin Scott is chief technology officer and executive vice president, technology and research, at Microsoft, and the author of the 2020 book “Reprogramming the American Dream: From Rural America to Silicon Valley — Making AI Serve Us All,” which discusses how artificial intelligence can promote growth and benefit all of society.