ALBANY, New York — Gov. Kathy Hochul has cracked the door open to the potential for new, small nuclear power plants as a way for the state to try to meet its ambitious climate goals.
The prospect was once dismissed by top officials and carries a whiff of irony after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo shuttered the state’s second-largest nuclear plant, Indian Point in Westchester County, in 2021.
But as the state’s far-reaching zero emissions electricity goal by 2040 looms, there’s more openness to the idea.
The Democratic governor asked about the prospect for small, new nuclear reactors to contribute to the state’s climate goals at a private dinner with environmentalists on April 29, according to two attendees who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the private conversations.
