On Monday afternoon, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that 510nano Inc., a developer of renewable energy projects and technologies, will relocate its headquarters from Durham, North Carolina, and establish a manufacturing operation in Greensville County. The company will create 113 new jobs — developing and producing solar panels and other hardware — over the next three years.

The brass in attendance listed many reasons why Greensville County is the ideal home for the manufacturing site and energy and research technology center, nothing that it offers a site that meets the company’s needs, a superior workforce, a manufacturing industry cluster and close proximity to I-95, railroads and a world class port.

Just a half hour down Route 58, with access to the same highways, railroads and port, why wasn’t Southampton County in the conversation? Until the leaders of Southampton County put adequate investment into economic development, we’re likely to continue to watch neighboring counties have success, while our industrial sites sit vacant.