ALBANY, New York — Labor unions and big manufacturers support Gov. Kathy Hochul’s full-speed-ahead push for new nuclear energy, but environmental advocates are wary.
Hochul announced Monday that the New York Power Authority would build at least one new plant to add 1 gigawatt of new nuclear energy to the state’s power grid. The Democratic governor framed the investment in a new reactor as necessary to avoid power shortfalls and supply reliable energy to businesses arriving in upstate New York.
“We cannot risk jeopardizing the pro-business climate that I’ve worked so hard to create for the last few years,” Hochul said during the announcement at the Niagara hydropower project. “That demand is right now and that opportunity is right now, but if we don’t increase our capacity over the next decade, we’ll see rolling blackouts and other disruptions.”
New York’s independent grid operator has raised concerns about narrowing reliability margins — the cushion of generation above what’s needed to supply the highest demand days — although it does not currently project a statewide shortfall in the timeframe Hochul alluded to.
