Energy Park Can Bring Thousands Of Jobs
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Jason Lovins - Daily Times</p><B> Against the backdrop of the Piketon uranium enrichment facilities, Gov. Ted Strickland addressed an audience Thursday of several hundred area officials, employees and the media. He was joined, inset, by Senator George V. Voinovich and Congresswoman Jean Schmidt.
Jason Lovins - Daily Times

Against the backdrop of the Piketon uranium enrichment facilities, Gov. Ted Strickland addressed an audience Thursday of several hundred area officials, employees and the media. He was joined, inset, by Senator George V. Voinovich and Congresswoman Jean Schmidt.
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By G. SAM PIATT

PDT Staff Writer

PIKETON – When the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant shut down in 2001 after nearly 50 years of turning out weapons-grade uranium, the loss of 900 jobs was felt throughout the southern Ohio communities surrounding the plant.

“It was a scary, depressing kind of feeling to lose that many jobs at one whack,” said Portsmouth City Councilman Bob Mollette, who worked at the facility at the time. He wasn’t one of those people who lost their job. He’s been there now for 19 years and works as a shift foreman for USEC Inc.

And now, with Thursday’s announcement that four of the nation’s biggest energy companies have formed an alliance to pursue the development of America’s first clean energy park project at the place where the old gaseous diffusion plant operated, Mollette is certain the closing of the old plant was good for the area in the long run.

The Southern Ohio Clean Energy Park Alliance – a partnership among Duke Energy, AREVA, USEC and UniStar Nuclear Energy, will evaluate the U.S. Department of Energy site in Piketon as a potential location for a new nuclear power plant.

During the initial licensing efforts, several hundred well-paying jobs will be created. An average of 1,400 to 1,800 jobs could be created during nuclear plant construction with a peak of about 3,000 or more workers. And once in operation, the plant is expected to employ 400-700 permanent workers.

“It turns out the loss of the old plant was for the best,” Mollette said. “This is something for us all to get excited about. This will bring development to the area, more people to the area. It means more jobs — good jobs.”

Sen. George Voinovich, one of the speakers at Thursday morning’s announcement of the Southern Ohio Clean Energy Park Alliance, made from a makeshift stage with the old gaseous diffusion plant forming the backdrop, put it in a more poetic way.

“One of my favorite Scriptures is from Isaiah,” Voinovich said, “It goes, ‘Those who trust in the Lord shall have their strength renewed. They will soar with the wings of an eagle; they shall run and not grow weary; they shall walk and not grow faint.’ This community has represented that. You have stayed with it. You have stayed together.”

He estimated that 12,000 jobs can be created overall by a new nuclear plant.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland echoed those sentiments in his talk. “The Piketon facility and people of this community have seen a number of partnerships come and go over the years,” the governor said. “This one is different because it brings together the resources and experience necessary to transform this site into a revolutionary clean energy park. This project will revitalize the region’s economy, further advance Ohio’s nuclear infrastructure, help address our energy needs and be a big part of our solution to the challenge of climate change.”

Jim Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, said the creation of the alliance allows the partners, the state and the nation “to edge a little farther across the bridge leading to a clean energy future.”

The advanced nuclear reactor that’s planned will offer many benefits to the region, including reliable electricity to 1 million households, said Ann Lauvergeon, CEO of the French company AREVA, who flew in from Paris for Thursday’s announcement.

“And it will be done without producing greenhouse gases,” she said.

It would be several years of license application and permit-seeking before the first shovel of dirt would be turned on the proposed power plant, which could take about eight years to build.

The U.S. Department of Energy owns the Piketon site and is being asked to help with funding the initial phase of the proposal.

Duke Energy will be the applicant or licensee for the early site permit and, should the project develop as hoped, a combined construction and operating license for a proposed nuclear power plant. Duke will be responsible for management of the site.

AREVA will be responsible for coordination of all technical analysis with respect to license document preparation, and USEC will be responsible for site cleanup information, schedules and coordination, and site infrastructure and utilities.

UniStar Nuclear Energy will provide support services for the project, including licensing support.

The Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative, which has been watching and waiting for news like Thursday’s announcement for eight years, will work to successfully transition four counties — Scioto, Pike, Jackson and Ross — from their dependence on the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant to greater, long-term stability through the clean energy park alliance of southern Ohio.

G. SAM PIATT can be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 236.
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comments (1)
« cornhole wrote on Friday, Jul 03 at 08:25 PM »
People i dont like being negative but this will never come to pass.Bunch of hot air

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