From major announcements by Gov. Kathy Hochul to various summits throughout the state, 2025 seems to be the year of nuclear energy. However, if that’s the path forward, some say the reach of one plant in one community must extend to all of New York.
What You Need To Know
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced plans for New York to build a nuclear power facility in an effort to meet clean energy goals and take advantage of the economic opportunities it could present
Micron, which is beginning its efforts to build its massive plant near Syracuse, is also a reason the state is looking at nuclear
However, some believe the costs will far exceed expectation and could do massive damage to local and state economies
“There’s no better place to talk about New York’s energy future than right here at the Niagara Power Plant,” Hochul said back at an energy initiative event in June.
From Niagara, where Hochul announced plans for the state to build and run its own nuclear power plant, to summits in the North Country and Syracuse, nuclear power appears to be a major goal for New York state’s energy future.
“The technology has evolved. It’s much smaller. It’s much more impactful, and it is necessary,” state Assemblyman Scott Gray, a Republican, said.
Gray put together and hosted the summit in the North Country.
“Our whole purpose is to educate the public in terms of what the new technology is,” Gray added.
As the state looks to move forward with nuclear power, including its partnership with Micron, Gray believes there are three main avenues for success, both in the community a plant, or even smaller reactor, would be built, but also in communities neighboring such a build.
The first, he says, is to inform and educate, providing communities information, a better understanding of nuclear power, why it might want a reactor and highlighting its economic potential.
“Not only indirect jobs that it’s going to provide, but indirectly with the power generation and the companies that want to locate near the demand,” he said.
The second, Gray said, is to help communities find and support not only direct projects, but help build a workforce of local employees.
“It is the workforce that will be developed, along with Micron, that will enhance the whole energy sector as well as the advanced manufacturing sectors,” Gray said.
Gray says the third avenue is sustaining and delivering, or creating a culture of safety and focusing on a long-term future.
“We need steady, dispatchable and reliable energy for our next generation economy, technology, economy. And this is it,” Gray said with emphasis.
Gray said the North Country has already been one of the first to step up and say “yes, we want to be a part of this.”
However, there are plenty of people in New York that oppose such a move. It’s not so much about the safety of nuclear energy itself as much as it is a financial issue.
Two different states have recently attempted to build reactors. Georgia’s came in seven years late and $17 billion over budget. South Carolina scrapped its plan completely after already spending $9 billion.