NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 New York鈥檚 governor on Monday proposed the construction of the state鈥檚 first new nuclear power plant in decades.
Gov. Kathy Hochul directed the state鈥檚 power authority to develop an advanced, 鈥渮ero-emission鈥 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 鈥渁t least鈥 one new nuclear energy facility with a combined capacity of no less than one gigawatt of electricity. That would increase the state鈥檚 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 鈥渆nergy independence鈥 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.
鈥淭his is not your grandparents鈥 nuclear reactor,鈥 Hochul said. 鈥淭he 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.鈥
But Alfred Meyer, treasurer of Physicians for Social Responsibility鈥檚 New York chapter, was unconvinced.
He said nuclear power is a 鈥渧ery slow, expensive and dangerous鈥 way to generate electricity that takes away resources from faster, cheaper renewable options while leaving behind highly toxic, radioactive waste.
鈥淣uclear power is not clean or green energy,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t is damaging to public health and the environment.鈥
Hochul said the state hasn鈥檛 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.
鈥淓verybody is raising their hand right now,鈥 Hochul said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be hard to decide.鈥
Among those likely in the running is the Nine Mile Point nuclear plant in Oswego. Hochul鈥檚 administration has been supportive of Maryland power company Constellation鈥檚 bid to build a new nuclear reactor at the two-reactor facility.
There are 54 operating nuclear power plants in the country, the U.S. Department of Energy.
But American utilities have been broadly reluctant to launch new nuclear plants due to high 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鈥檚 largest public power company, applied to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to develop what it bills as a 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鈥檚 electricity, according to Hochul鈥檚 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鈥檚 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 . 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 .
