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

NEW YORK (AP) — 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 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.

“We’re going to get it done,” Hochul said, speaking at the Niagara County Power Project in Lewiston. “This historic initiative will lay the foundation for the next generation of prosperity.”

The governor 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.

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. But 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. The federally owned utility provides electricity to seven states and operates three traditional, large nuclear power plants, providing about 40% of the Tennessee Valley’s power.

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.

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