Paducah hosting nuclear energy conference

“As the host of an existing federal nuclear facility in a state considering adding nuclear to the energy mix, Paducah is an ideal location to explore future nuclear development and opportunities to leverage and transition an energy workforce and existing infrastructure,” according to the ECA.

The three-day event, held at the Paducah-McCracken County Convention and Expo Center, will feature sessions and panel discussions on a variety of topics, including updates on what other communities with similar situations are doing, adding nuclear to an energy strategy, leveraging existing infrastructure, building a nuclear ecosystem, changing the perception of nuclear and keys to building a nuclear power market.

“When the Paducah chamber held our annual D.C. Fly In last September, one of our small group meetings was with the Energy Communities Alliance. At that meeting, they asked us if we would be interested in hosting this forum in Paducah,” said Sandra Wilson, chamber president/CEO.

“Of course, we said ‘Yes’ as there will be more than 200 people here in our community for this conference. It gives us an opportunity to continue to learn more about the possibilities of re-industrialization and future economic development at the Paducah DOE site.”

District 2 State Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Benton, sees a lot of opportunities ahead for the region and the state regarding nuclear. He sponsored a Senate Joint Resolution in the last legislative session, which establishes a Nuclear Energy Development Working Group in the commonwealth.

“I don’t think that there’s any question (there is a lot of interest in nuclear),” Carroll told The Sun, in an interview during the past legislative session. “I think already this year there have been over 100 bills filed related to nuclear energy all across the United States.

“So, there’s a lot of interest and everybody is wanting to be first, to be ahead of the class on all of the developing technology ... and there’s an energy race of some sort, a tide that’s developing. And, for the commonwealth, we have depended on coal for so long, and obviously we want coal to be a part of our baseload energy as long as we can. But we have to look towards the future.”

Developing nuclear energy opportunities “could be just a game-changer for the future and provide more stability and good paying jobs in the area,” Carroll said. “Right now, the urgency is that Kentucky doesn’t fall behind for economic development reasons ... that’s really what we’re focusing on.”

Of the three-day forum, “I think it’s a good opportunity for the nuclear industry to see that Paducah/McCracken County, as far as nuclear, we’re open for business and we’re comfortable with the technology and we welcome interest, especially in the DOE site.”

The state senator said he has had conversations with people in other states, such as Virginia.

“Virginia has nuclear power. They build nuclear submarines,” he said. “They are investing a lot of money in nuclear, making it a priority. And, I know that Tennessee, I think, is investing like $50 million dollars. So, there’s going to be a lot of competition and we just can’t get behind.”