By Caitlin Fertal

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman vows to carry on the dedication that George Voinovich had to nuclear power in Ohio.

Portman, R-Ohio, spoke of the need for new, clean power to free ourselves from foreign oil, and the opportunity that advancement provides for Northeast Ohio after touring Babcock & Wilcox Co. in Euclid Wednesday.

"We need a nuclear renaissance in this country. We need to be sure we're expanding nuclear power. Why? Because we need to get away from foreign sources of oil, because we need cleaner fuels, because we need more affordable fuels, and what company and what area of our country is better suited to do that than this company in Northeast Ohio?"

Two years ago, B&W announced its newest technology, mPower — a nuclear reactor defined as a scalable, modular, passively safe advanced light water reactor system that will be used for commercial nuclear manufacturing of commercial nuclear components.

Jeff Carter, B&W's vice president of government relations spoke of the advancements the company has made since then.

"It was a launch and a concept at that time, but now we're starting to see some real hardware," he said.

The company has made significant progress with the reactor, he said.

Officials also stressed that new technology equals new jobs.

"We anticipate that we will hire literally hundreds of new, highly skilled employees at our facilities in the coming years," Carter said.

Doug Paulson, general manager of the Euclid facility, expects to hire 10 to 15 employees within the year.

The mPower reactors will require 20 employees for every unit sold. However, it is harder to gauge that type of growth for the company because no reactors have sold yet, Paulson said.

"If (mPower) takes off, that's a step change in growth," he said.

"We need jobs. We need them here. We've got the best workers and we've got the best technology here, and we've got the facilities," Portman said, "and I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure that we can use all these resources to really maximize the chances to create jobs and opportunities here in Euclid and Northeast Ohio, and our state."

Euclid Mayor Bill Cervenik said he is confident in the relationship between the city and the senator.

"Sen. Voinovich always supported B&W and the city of Euclid as well as the state of Ohio and he always helped us move forward, and I'm quite certain under your guidance and leadership, we will do the same," he said.

Portman has visited several different facilities, including the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. He will visit more in the coming days as he becomes more familiar with Ohio's energy advancements, and determines where jobs can be created.

"I'm going to continue to focus on what I think is the most pressing need right now in Ohio, which is to make sure that we begin to bring back the opportunities and the jobs," Portman said.