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"This really is a game changer for a community this size," said Perryman, president and CEO of The Perryman Group, a Waco economic and financial analysis firm.
Perryman spoke Thursday at the Victoria Economic Development Corporation's annual membership meeting about the impact the proposed nuclear plant would have on Victoria and about the nation's economic situation.
The Exelon Nuclear plant would offer diversity to Victoria's strongly petrochemical-based community, Perryman said, and would bring stability.
The petrochemical industry sees its shares of ups and downs, he explained, and having a different type of plant - one that didn't follow that same cycle - would make those "downs" not so bad.
It would add 700 basic jobs - at an average $70,000 salary - at the site once operations begin, he said, increasing the permanent workforce by about 12 percent and the earned income by almost 20 percent.
Multiplyer effects would mean more retailers and restaurants and would make the community more competitive.
"That's a huge stimulus to the economy," he said. "This is a very big deal."
Victoria Economic Development Corporation President Dale Fowler compared Victoria to a pot of water.
Heat that water to 211 degrees Fahrenheit and all you get is hot water, he said. But turn it up that one extra degree and it boils.
Boiling water makes steam and steam means power, he said.
"I think our community is close to that point where we're going to boil," he said. "It might take a little more time, might take a little more effort, but I think we can get there."
Proposed growth in store for Victoria might not seem to add up to what the nation's economy is doing, Perryman said, but it will begin to right itself.
He predicted the economy to start growing again around the second quarter of 2009.
"I'm not as pessimistic as most, but this is a challenging, difficult situation," he said.
History shows we will overcome the hardships, he said, because it has happened 100 percent of the time.
"It never fails," Perryman said.