U.S. Senator Tim Kaine was in the southside on Friday to tour the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill and host an economic development roundtable to discuss the site and how to best support the regional economy.

Kaine was joined by local leaders including Danville Mayor Alonzo Jones for the roundtable discussion. During the discussion Kaine praised the Southern Virginia Megasite and said it’s a matter of when, not if that a company will choose to locate at the site.

Kaine also noted that the Megasite is in an “energy community” as determined by the Inflation Reduction Act. The southside is considered an “energy community” by the Inflation Reduction Act because a certain percentage of the workforce has worked in energy related industries.

The Inflation Reduction Act provides two powerful tax credits for companies. One of them is for advanced manufacturing that will allow companies to get a 30% percent tax credit. The second is for producing energy in innovative ways that allows for a 30% tax credit.

However, if a company is doing those types of work in an “energy community” the tax credit goes up to 40% and if there are certain measures of low income or high employment the credit can go up to 50% or higher. Kaine said that he believes the credits will be a good incentive for companies to choose the Southern Virginia Megasite.

“Whether it’s a really big company or whether it’s an industry that can produce a whole series of wins, I think it’s going to happen and it’s a matter of when not if and I think the when is actually going to barely fairly soon,” said Kaine, “I think these tax credits take it from everybody is competing on equal footing to now we’ve picked a few communities in the United States and given them a dramatic incentive over other parts of the country.”