A group of Democratic state lawmakers are pushing back on aspects of New York’s developing nuclear energy strategy, arguing that taxpayers and ratepayers should not be asked to subsidize new nuclear projects.
The criticism came in the form of a letter signed by 35 of them and submitted as the public comment period closes on the state’s Advanced Nuclear Policy Options Paper, which lays out potential approaches to expanding nuclear generation in New York. Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed 1 gigawatt of nuclear energy expansion.
State Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger urged Hochul and state energy officials to reject options that would rely on state subsidies to finance new nuclear construction.
“The governor is laying out a plan that would land on the ratepayers of New York,” Krueger said.
Krueger and other lawmakers have been sharply critical of the proposal in part because of the lengthy timetable and high cost associated with constructing new nuclear plants, pointing to recent projects in Georgia and elsewhere that have been years behind schedule and significantly over budget.
“Fifteen, 20 years out? We need energy now so to put all of this money over the long term, so to put all of this money and energy into a model that isn’t going to be there for us, is not cost efficient,” Krueger said.
Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, who is co-leading the effort, told Spectrum News 1 she is concerned that spending on nuclear power could take attention and resources away from other clean energy initiatives that could provide relief more quickly.
“Ratepayers are experiencing higher and higher bills and the crying need is for affordability,” Simon said.
Hochul has positioned nuclear energy as a core pillar of her “all of the above” approach to addressing New York’s energy needs, combining nuclear power with renewable energy and, for the time being, fossil fuels.
She has stressed that avoiding issues like what happened in Georgia is top of mind as plans move forward.
“I look at projects like the very expensive nuclear project they did in Georgia, for example,” she said earlier this year. “I’m working hard to make sure that we don’t get sucked up into those high costs either. There’s a smart way to do it, so I’m looking at everything that’s happened before, bringing it together to make sure we do it the very smartest, best way as soon as possible in New York.”
At the Business Council’s annual conference in Warren County on Friday, Hochul also framed nuclear expansion as an economic development opportunity.
“It’s beyond ambition. It’s something I’m going to execute working with the White House on this. I’m going to need more workers trained on running nuclear reactors and building them all of these opportunities,” Hochul said.
That’s right — the White House. Despite disagreements on a number of climate issues, Hochul and her Republican opponent, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, both support some expansion of nuclear energy though the agreement ends there.
The issue also highlights a broader tension between Hochul and some progressive lawmakers over the direction of the state’s energy policy. Hochul faced criticism from environmental advocates and progressive lawmakers earlier this year over changes to the state’s climate law included in the state budget.
“I think she’s evolving,” Krueger said. “We’ve seen her evolve on data center concerns. I was very happy to see her move a moratorium on data centers to try to get some of these answers. It doesn’t go far enough.”
Krueger is also urging Hochul to sign legislation passed by the Legislature that would impose broader requirements on data centers.
Simon said lawmakers would also like to see the governor do more to end state subsidies benefiting fossil fuel companies.
“I think that would be helpful to talk about how we’re not going to give more money away to people who are polluting our environment and damaging our health,” Simon said.