Nuclear Energy Makes A New Friend in New York, Once the Bastion of Anti-Nuclear Sentiment

Guest Post from the Institute for Energy Research.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has directed the state’s public electric utility, the New York Power Authority, to add at least one gigawatt of new nuclear power, either by directly building the plant or working with private companies.

Due to increased electricity demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and increased electrification, there is renewed interest in using nuclear power, which is a reliable, baseload power source that does not emit carbon dioxide. It is not clear where New York will locate the plant, how much it will cost, or how long it will take to construct.

The Trump administration has pledged to expedite permitting for nuclear projects, which, in the past, have hit regulatory pitfalls with major plant cost increases and time delays. Trump’s executive orders call for policies that would increase U.S nuclear power generation from about 100 gigawatts today to 400 gigawatts by 2050. The N.Y. plant would be the first primary new nuclear power plant undertaken in more than 15 years in the United States.

Only five new commercial reactors have come online in the United States since 1991, the most recent being the two reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia, where construction began in 2009. Due to regulatory red tape, the two reactors cost more than $30 billion when they were completed in 2023 and 2024, which was more than twice the initial estimates.

Nuclear plants have been forced to retire due to red tape from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), massive subsidies for renewable energy, and low-cost natural gas, which make it difficult for nuclear energy to compete. Nuclear capacity is down more than 4% from its 2012 peak, with 54 plants producing 19% of the country’s electricity.

There is also interest in extending operating licenses for older plants and reviving those that have been shuttered. Some AI companies are going directly to nuclear power plants to make deals for their power, as the data centers need reliable power 24/7. For example, Microsoft plans to restart the undamaged reactor at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island power plant to supply power to a data center.

New York closed the Indian Point nuclear plant, located about 40 miles upriver from Manhattan, in 2021 due to environmental concerns and its proximity to a major population center. The plant met approximately 25% of New York City’s electricity demand, forcing the state to use a combination of renewable energy and fossil fuels to fill the gap, thereby increasing carbon dioxide emissions. The New York Independent System Operator, which operates the state’s power grid, delayed plans to close some older natural gas-fired power plants serving the region.

New York currently has three active nuclear plants, all located upstate along Lake Ontario and owned and operated by Constellation Energy. The Nine Mile Point, Robert Emmett Ginna, and James A. FitzPatrick plants provide about 3.3 gigawatts of power, or about 20% of the state’s electricity. The last nuclear power plant built in the state was Unit 2 at Nine Mile Point in 1989. At its peak, nuclear power provided 5.4 gigawatts, or about one-third of the state’s electricity supply.

New York’s Nuclear Plans

Building a one gigawatt nuclear plant would increase the state’s total nuclear capacity to about 4.3 gigawatts, potentially creating 1,600 construction jobs and 1,200 permanent jobs. According to Hochul, 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. She also pledged that the new facility or facilities would be safer than their predecessors.

Potential sites for the new nuclear plant include the grounds of New York’s three operating plants, all owned or majority-owned by Constellation Energy. The facility could be one large reactor or a collection of smaller ones. Constellation Energy and New York are also collaborating on a federal grant that could support early work toward adding one or more reactors at the Nine Mile Point Clean Energy Center in Oswego. New York also plans to learn from Canadian efforts to build four small modular reactors in Ontario. Building smaller reactors in a factory setting could lower costs.

Trump’s Nuclear Executive Orders

President Trump has called for reforms to the NRC related to the licensing of nuclear power technology, which includes an 18-month deadline for licensing the construction and operation of new reactors, as well as a process for high-volume licensing of microreactors and modular reactors. The NRC must issue notices of proposed rulemaking within nine months and final rules within 18 months. The administration stated that the NRC should consider the benefits of increased nuclear power availability to the U.S. economy and national security alongside health, safety, and environmental considerations.

Conclusion

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has asked the New York Power Authority to add at least one gigawatt of nuclear capacity to the state’s electric grid.

New York currently receives about 20% of its electricity from three nuclear power plants — Ginna, Nine Mile Point, and FitzPatrick — that are located on the south shore of Lake Ontario and are owned and operated by Constellation Energy.

Adding one gigawatt of nuclear power will increase the state’s nuclear capacity to 4.3 gigawatts. The facility could be one large reactor or a collection of smaller, modular reactors. President Trump supports nuclear power and has issued four executive orders to promote the technology and to quadruple U.S. nuclear capacity by 2050.

#NewYork #Nuclear #Constellation #NuclearPlants