Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered the state’s power authority to return to its roots and build a new nuclear power plant in upstate New York.
Hochul has directed the New York Power Authority to build at least 1 gigawatt of new nuclear power as soon as possible — enough to supply more than 1.1 million homes — to meet growing energy demand in the Empire State.
The move puts New York in a leading position as states race to embrace new nuclear, and Hochul is leveraging the nation’s largest state-owned public power organization to do it. The power authority owns the hydroelectric dams that provide about a fifth of the state’s electricity and had a stake in its nuclear fleet until a quarter-century ago.
“There’s a consensus building that we need more generation and more baseload,” said NYPA President and CEO Justin Driscoll. “From time to time, the state calls upon us to build big infrastructure, and this is another example of that — not only expertise but confidence in the power authority to deliver.”
