Cuomo Blew It by Shutting Down Indian Point Nuclear Plant with No "Plan B" — Now Hochul Needs Nuclear (and Natural Gas)

Doug Sheridan, at LinkedIn, has authored a wonderful post regarding dysfunctional New York State:

The WSJ Editorial Board writes, Andrew Cuomo’s record as Governor haunted his run for mayor of NYC, and a recent announcement will remind voters of one of his blunders. The Empire State plans to open a new nuclear plant, which will fill the gap Cuomo created when he helped close a different one.

Gov Hochul said the NY Power Authority will oversee the development of a nuclear plant, with a goal of generating enough electricity to power about 5% of households in the state. The new plant will likely be built near one of three existing plants near Lake Ontario, along with upgraded transmission lines to bring power to high-All of this highlights the folly of Cuomo’s energy legacy. He pressured the Indian Point nuclear plant to close for years, beginning when he was New York’s attorney general in 2007. The plant finally succumbed by the time he left the governorship in 2021, and New Yorkers have been paying for the error ever since.

Indian Point Nuclear Plant on the Hudson River, by Tony - https://www.flickr.com/photos/tonythemisfit/2755502911/, CC BY 2.0

“Shutting down Indian Point led to New Yorkers paying an extra $304 million in electricity costs in 2022,” says a study for the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity. The plant supplied about 25% of New York City’s power, and shutting it off increased dependence on costlier plants that handle excess demand. The switch to other power sources also increased CO2 emissions by as much as eight megatons a year.

Cuomo argued that the plant, which is 36 miles from Midtown Manhattan, was an environmental hazard. But the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) found that the plant’s output was well within safe limits. By closing it, Cuomo bowed to environmental activists who want to sweep away every power source except renewables. “There was no Plan B,” Hochul said recently of the closure.

One risk is that no one knows when the new plant will come online and at what cost. This suggests New York would be better off building new natural-gas plants immediately, but Cuomo blocked gas pipelines to deliver cheap natural gas from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania.

Gov. Hochul is leaning on Trump to help with the new plant. He’s pledged to foster a “nuclear energy renaissance,” and he ordered the NRC in May to limit new permit approvals to 18 months. Streamlined regulation could reduce time and cost barriers that have made new plants impractical for decades.

Our Take: What is it about left-leaning politicians and their constituents across the globe that they get such satisfaction at shutting down generation that their states and nations will clearly need for years if not decades to come? It's one of the great mysteries of our time. regions.

New York is in desperate need of new power as demand surges, especially with AI and because wind and solar aren’t reliable. New York boasts 47 data centers with another three planned, each of which requires megawatts of power. The AFL-CIO and the electricians union praised the announcement of a new plant, eager to get more union workers on the job.

There is no mystery. Leftists are about tearing down all, to build a new society where they control all, and all are dependent on them. It’s about gaining more power, in other words. But, leftists are not adverse to making money. Indeed, they require money to advance their interests. So, they always align with grifters who are willing to share some of their illicit gains with them. If you doubt that, do a search on the relationship between German financier Alexander Parvus and Vladimir Lenin in facilitating the Russian Revolution. The climate cause, in the same way, directly serves the interests of leftists in securing power and money.

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