Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) has directed the state’s public electric utility to construct a new nuclear power plant, reflecting the growing embrace of nuclear energy as a clean and reliable energy source.
Hochul’s plan comes a few years after New York closed the Indian Point nuclear plant in 2021 over safety concerns. Environmentalists have long sought to shut down nuclear plants, citing safety issues and concerns over nuclear waste deposits.
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But, in recent years, there has been a shift in the perception of nuclear energy, with many more cities, countries, and companies now looking to use nuclear power to meet climate goals and to provide baseload power to meet fast-growing demand.
“I’m going to lean into making sure that every company that wants to come to New York and everyone who wants to live here will never have to worry about reliability and affordability when it comes to their utility costs,” Hochul said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
Hochul directed the New York Power Authority to add at least 1 gigawatt of new nuclear power generation to the state’s fleet, which could power about 1 million homes. She said that the utility will look to build the new nuclear plant in Lewiston, on the border with Canada.
The Trump administration has been seeking to accelerate the development of nuclear energy in the U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in May to quadruple nuclear energy capacity to 400 gigawatts by 2050.
It can take years to get a nuclear plant operating, due to the lengthy permitting process.
Hochul said her conversations with Trump have always included advocating changes to the federal permitting process for nuclear plants. She added that she had recommended that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency look at streamlining operations at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“Why does it take a decade?” she said. “That’s why no one is doing it; the barriers are too high.”
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running for mayor of New York City, oversaw the closing of the Indian Point power plant in 2021. He cited concerns over the lack of evacuation routes in the event of a disaster, as the plant is in a densely populated region. Still, climate groups such as the Sierra Club actively sought to close the plant due to environmental risks.
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“Since my time as Attorney General, I have been deeply concerned with the safety of the Indian Point nuclear power facility. It does not belong on the Hudson River and in close proximity to the most densely populated area in the country,” Cuomo said in a press release in 2021.
“This is a victory for the health and safety of New Yorkers, and moves us a big step closer to reaching our aggressive clean energy goals,” he said.
A spokesperson for Cuomo told the Washington Examiner in an email that Cuomo had concerns over safety and noted that he had supported nuclear energy plants in other circumstances.
But, as a result of the Indian Point closure, New York has relied heavily on fossil fuels to meet energy demands. Indian Point helped to provide at least 25% of the electricity for New York City.
“There was no Plan B,” Hochul said, referring to relying on fossil fuel.
Hochul’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Indian Point. In recent years, private enterprises and utilities have sought to restart shuttered plants to meet demand, including the Three Mile Island facility in Pennsylvania and the Palisades Nuclear Plant on Lake Michigan.