New York governor seeks to build the state's first new nuclear power plant in decades

NEW YORK — New York's governor on Monday proposed the construction of the state's first new nuclear power plant in decades.

Gov. Kathy Hochul directed the state's power authority to develop an advanced, ''zero-emission'' facility in upstate New York that she hopes will help create a clean, reliable and affordable electric grid for the state.

She said the state power authority will seek to develop ''at least'' one new nuclear energy facility with a combined capacity of no less than one gigawatt of electricity. That would increase the state's total nuclear capacity to about 4.3 gigawatts.

The Democrat, speaking at the Niagara County Power Project in Lewiston, said the state needs to secure its ''energy independence'' if it wants to continue to attract large manufacturers that create good-paying jobs as it deactivates aging fossil fuel power plants.

Acknowledging concerns with nuclear power, she pledged the new facility or facilities would be safer than their predecessors.

''This is not your grandparents' nuclear reactor,'' Hochul said. ''The new plan will be a model of 21st century nuclear design with safety at the forefront, automatic safety systems to enhance the containment and rigorous environmental standards.''

But Alfred Meyer, treasurer of Physicians for Social Responsibility's New York chapter, was unconvinced.

He said nuclear power is a ''very slow, expensive and dangerous'' way to generate electricity that takes away resources from faster, cheaper renewable options while leaving behind highly toxic, radioactive waste.

''Nuclear power is not clean or green energy,'' he said. ''It is damaging to public health and the environment.''

Hochul said the state hasn't decided on a potential location, but that upstate communities appear receptive, given the potential for creating 1,600 construction jobs and 1,200 permanent jobs once the facility is operational.

''Everybody is raising their hand right now,'' Hochul said. ''It's going to be hard to decide.''

Among those likely in the running is the Nine Mile Point nuclear plant in Oswego. Hochul's administration has been supportive of Maryland power company Constellation's bid to build a new nuclear reactor at the two-reactor facility.

There are 54 operating nuclear power plants in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

But American utilities have been broadly reluctant to launch new nuclear plants due to high cost overruns and delays on recent high-profile projects.

Georgia Power Company completed the first two new nuclear reactors in the country in a generation last year. Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Georgia, cost nearly $35 billion and were powered up some seven years later than initially hoped.

Last month, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation's largest public power company, applied to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to develop what it bills as a next-generation nuclear power plant at its Clinch River site in Oak Ridge.

New York currently has three active nuclear plants, all located upstate along Lake Ontario and owned by Constellation. The Nine Mile Point, Robert Emmett Ginna and James A. FitzPatrick plants provide about 3.3 gigawatts of power, or roughly 20% of the state's electricity, according to Hochul's office.

The last nuclear power plant built in the state was Unit 2 at Nine Mile Point in 1989. At its peak, nuclear power provided about 5.4 gigawatts, or roughly one-third of the state's electrical supply, according to the advocacy group Nuclear New York.

The New York Power Authority previously operated two nuclear plants, including the Indian Point Power Plant, which shut down in 2021. That facility was located along the Hudson River some 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of New York City in Buchanan.

The other facility, once operated by the state, was the FitzPatrick plant, which the power authority sold in 2000 and is now run by Constellation.

___

Follow Philip Marcelo on X at twitter.com/philmarcelo.