Governor’s instructions: Last June, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul instructed the NYPA to add new nuclear capacity to the state by building a large-scale nuclear plant or several small modular reactors, and noted that the new capacity was needed to provide electricity for the data centers and semiconductor factories that are envisioned for upstate New York. Hochul said, “I’m going to lean into making sure that every company that wants to come to New York and everyone who wants to live here will never have to worry about reliability and affordability when it comes to their utility costs.”
Communities: The following upstate communities responded to the NYPA solicitation regarding hosting new nuclear facilities:
- Broome County
- Jefferson County
- Oswego County (already home to three operating nuclear reactors)
- Schuyler County
- St. Lawrence County
- Wayne County
- City of Dunkirk
- RED-Rochester (manager of energy use in Eastman Business Park, near the Robert Emmet Ginna nuclear plant)
Companies: The following companies responded to the solicitation to partner with the NYPA in new nuclear developments:
- Accenture
- AECOM
- Blue Energy
- Burns & McDonnell
- Candu Energy
- Constellation Energy (owner of three existing upstate nuclear plants)
- Elementl Power
- GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
- Holtec International (currently dismantling Indian Point)
- Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company
- Metro Nuclear
- NANO Nuclear Energy
- Natura Resources
- NextEra Energy Resources
- Nuclear Promise X
- nVision Energy
- Oppenheimer Energy
- Rolls Royce SMR Limited
- TerraPower
- The Nuclear Company
- Westinghouse Electric Company
- WSP USA
- X Energy
Clean energy future: NYPA president and CEO Justin E. Driscoll said, “NYPA is quickly advancing efforts to develop an advanced nuclear project in Upstate New York that will strengthen the reliability and resiliency of our state’s electric grid and deliver substantial economic benefits to residents. The enthusiastic response to the power authority’s first round of solicitations reflects a strong desire from communities and collaborators that are ready and willing to help us lead New York into its clean energy future.”
The NYPA expects to announce the names of the developers and communities selected for the nuclear projects later this year. It also intends to provide $40 million in annual funding over the next four years to develop a skilled workforce in the state for these advanced nuclear initiatives.