With the recent move of SAIC headquarters to Northern Virginia and the possibility of Northrop Grumman following suit, it is clear that Virginia is really coming into its own with business development.

These companies are two of the largest defense companies in the nation. Virginia is also home to the Virginia Clean Energy Business Incubator (14th statewide incubator in the nation) as well as Dominion's newly established CleanTech Incubator in Ashland. These are not like the original incubator models (inexpensive space, shared admin, shared equipment, etc.) but next-generation incubators with many more services to offer, like modeling and simulation.

Virginia also recently became the headquarters for the National Institute for the Commercialization of Clean Energy (NICCE), a leading energy business development consortium focused on bringing clean energy technology to market. NICCE's corporate officers will soon create the National Capitol Clean Energy Incubator, housing the National Modeling and Simulation Center for Excellence.

Under development is the world's largest modeling and simulation center focused on energy and the environment (50,000-100,000 square feet). Plans include a holographic system, next-generation videoconferencing/full immersion, MapleSIM, Forterra (now owned by SAIC) virtual worlds and a flight simulator. It will be home to the World Data Center on Energy and interconnect through a WAN [wide area network] to the National Lambda Rail, a system of tier-1 universities throughout the nation. The business model is fully designed, and the investors have been identified with funding, but site location is now under review with five sites under consideration.

Energy initiatives led by some of Virginia's leading businesses and universities, like the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech, could help establish Virginia as the No. 1 place to develop clean, alternative and reliable energy. Within NICCE's consortium there are 10 businesses seeking their new home to develop these technologies from semiconductor, offshore wind, algal biofuel, small-vertical wind, solar and more. These companies plan to grow and expand in Virginia's footprint, and, based on today's business projection, we are forecasting 423 new jobs over three years. Location and the work force are critical to this effort.

Congratulations to VEDP and Virginia's Tourism Office for all they do in helping Virginia grow. Thanks also to the Virginia Tobacco Commission because it helped us and the rural parts of Southern Virginia.