The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
June 30, 2016
Dear Governor Cuomo:
All over the country, people are paying attention to New York’s energy policy reforms as your administration works to make our state a leader in advancing renewable energy and efficiency. New York is gaining national recognition for the way our clean energy economy is growing rapidly with tens of thousands of new clean energy jobs. In alignment with the Reforming the Energy Vision, the Clean Energy Fund, and Community Solar policies, the proposed Clean Energy Standard (CES) should help this clean energy economy grow exponentially. But we, the undersigned 112 organizations, are disappointed that the proposed CES policy also includes an estimated $3.5 billion subsidy for unprofitable nuclear reactors. As ratepayers and representatives of ratepayers, we do not support the uncompetitive bailout of nuclear owners at the expense of the environment and public health and safety.
The proposed nuclear bailout in the CES contradicts your leadership on issues ranging from climate change, energy affordability, and the closure of Indian Point. New York should not take the nationally unprecedented step of including nuclear energy in its clean energy portfolio. Nuclear energy is dangerous, costly, and dirty. Additionally, the unprofitable upstate nuclear reactors are not needed to maintain the reliability of the grid, they are not needed to achieve our climate goals, and they are not the best way to support jobs in upstate New York.
In a report from this year titled “Generator Deactivation Assessment James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Generating Facility,” the New York State Independent System Operator (NYISO) found that both FitzPatrick and Ginna nuclear reactors can close, even while coal and gas plants also close in New York, with no threat to the reliability of the electricity system. Thus, it makes sense to take money that would have gone to propping up nuclear plants and to instead invest in accelerating the transition to renewables.
Subsidizing old nuclear plants is not the best use of our resources to combat climate change. Nuclear power is responsible for plenty of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in the mining and enrichment stages for nuclear fuel. Furthermore, most of the upstate nuclear reactors will be closing before 2030, so they will have to be replaced to meet the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. Again, it makes sense to invest in renewable energy and efficiency now to replace those reactors, instead of wasting consumer money on temporary bailouts.
Last year the Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE) and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) published a report on a transition plan for FitzPatrick. It showed how we could transition FitzPatrick’s workforce and local economy for less cost than subsidizing the nuclear power plant. The report complements the extensive comments that AGREE and NIRS have submitted in the CES case showing how New York can meet and even exceed its greenhouse gas emissions targets without nuclear power. All of this is consistent with the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s determination that it is not the best use of resources for states to subsidize unprofitable nuclear plants to meet the Clean Power Plan goals.
We understand that your administration is concerned about job losses in upstate New York if nuclear reactors close. Instead of supporting nuclear subsidies, we respectfully request a nuclear decommissioning and just transition process that will protect the environment, retrain workers, and provide a smooth path for nuclear-reliant communities to benefit from the clean energy economy. We urge your administration to fight for a decommissioning process that begins immediately to clean up and isolate the dangerous radioactive materials at New York’s nuclear sites. Doing so could preserve at least half of the nuclear workforce, and would ensure that the billions of dollars already set aside for decommissioning in New York starts getting pumped into local economies. Workers not employed for decommissioning should be supported through retraining programs and transitional wage support. We are eager to work with your administration on these efforts.
We know we can revitalize upstate NY with clean energy jobs. Your administration is proving it. In addition to the 8,000 solar installation jobs in New York, green manufacturing is coming online. For example, the planned Solar City factory in Buffalo, the 1366 Technologies factory near Rochester, and the Soraa LED lightbulb factory in Syracuse will collectively create approximately 6,420 long-term jobs. The state investment in these facilities will be approximately $937 million. By comparison, the nuclear subsidies in the CES could cost over $3.5 billion to preserve fewer than 2,500 nuclear jobs.
Municipalities and school districts that currently rely on nuclear tax revenues will also need help. Your administration has already shown leadership on this front by signing a State Budget that includes $30 million to replace tax revenue for municipalities and school districts going through plant closures.
We are counting on you to protect our public health and the health of vulnerable communities throughout the nuclear fuel chain. The Public Service Commission has referred to nuclear energy as “clean,” as “zero-emissions,” and as “carbon-free” – none of which are true. The uranium mining and enrichment for nuclear fuel creates 1 billion pounds of radioactive mining waste per reactor per year, and is an industrial process responsible for large amounts of carbon emissions. Each nuclear reactor is allowed to emit a “legal” level of radiation that would cause 1 death per every 286 people exposed. Nuclear plants also create tons of nuclear waste, a problem that your own administration has challenged the federal government about because there is no long-term storage solution in sight.
Meanwhile, the risk of a catastrophic nuclear accident continues at all nuclear reactors, including those in upstate New York. All of the plants in Oswego lack a viable containment to fully protect the public in the case of a meltdown, a fact that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s post-Fukushima Japan Lessons Learned Near-Term Task Force acknowledges, but has failed to fully fix.
For all of the reasons stated above, we oppose subsidies for unprofitable nuclear power plants. We appreciate your efforts to make New York a leader in renewable energy and green economic development. We ask that you extend this leadership to include opposing the proposed nuclear subsidies so that New York demonstrates to the nation how we can close all dirty and dangerous energy sources.
Sincerely,
350 Brooklyn
Molly Ornati, Coordinator
Brooklyn, NY
350 Waldo County
Jim Freeman, Facilitator
Belfast, ME
Airtight Services
W Bill LaBine, Sr. Energy Consultant
Avon, NY
All Our Energy
George Povall, Director
Point Lookout, NY
Alliance for a Green Economy
Jessica Azulay, Program Director
Syracuse, NY
ArtRage Gallery
Rose Viviano, Director
Syracuse, NY
Beacon Climate Action
Amanda Means, Organizer
Beacon, NY
Beyond Nuclear
Kevin Kamps, Radioactive Waste Specialist and Watchdog
Takoma Park, MD
Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition
Adam Flint, Southern Tier Solar Works Program Manager
Binghamton, NY
Binghamton University College Democrats
Conor Stillwell, President
Binghamton, NY
Brooklyn For Peace
Charlotte Phillips, M.D., Chairperson
Brooklyn, NY
Broome County Peace Action
Jim Clune, President
Binghamton, NY
Bruce Peninsula Environment Group (BPEG)
S. (Ziggy) Kleinau, Co-founder, Outreach Director
Lion's Head, Ontario, Canada
Campaign for Renewable Energy
Brian Eden
Ithaca, NY
Capital District Against Fracking
Siobhan Burke, Founding Member
Troy, NY
Catskill Mountainkeeper
Ramsay Adams, Executive Director
Livingston Manor, NY
Chhaya Community Development Organization
Annetta Seecharran, Interim Executive Director
Jackson Heights, NY
Citizen Action of New York
Kristina Andreotta, Deputy Organizing Director
Albany, NY
Citizens Campaign for the Environment
Brian Smith, Associate Executive Director
Buffalo, NY
Citizens' Environmental Coalition
Barbara Warren, Executive Director
Cuddebackville, NY
Citizens for Local Power
Jen Metzger, Co-Director
Ulster County, NY
CNY Veterans for Peace
Dave Kashmer
Syracuse, NY
Coalition Against Pilgrim Pipelines-NY
Iris Marie Bloom, Organizer
High Falls, NY
Coalition Against the Rockaway Pipeline
Judith Canepa, Coordinator
New York, NY
Council on Intelligent Energy & Conservation Policy
Michel Lee, Chair
Scarsdale, NY
County Custom Builders
Estate of Milton B. Shapiro
Nanuet, NY
Diné No Nukes
Tommy Rock, Co-founder
Albuquerque, NM
Dryden Resource Awareness Coalition
Marie McRae
Dryden, NY
DynoRaxx
Nathan Rizzo
Buffalo, NY
Eco-Logic, WBAI-FM
Ken Gale, Producer
New York, NY
Environmental Justice Committee, SUNY Cortland
Sheila Cohen, Committee Chair
Cortland, NY
Environmental Justice Task Force of the WNY Peace Center, Inc.
Charley Bowman, Co-Chair
Buffalo, NY
ETM Solar Works
Gay Canough, President
Endicott, NY
Finger Lakes Move On
Pamela Gueldner, Lead Organizer
Ithaca, NY
Food & Water Watch
Alex Beauchamp, Northeast Region Director
Brooklyn, NY
Frack Action
Julia Walsh, Campaign Director
Kingston, NY
Freedom Solar Alliances, LLC
Azriel Alleyne, President
Kingston, NY
Gas Drilling Awareness for Cortland County
Sheila Cohen, Outreach Coordinator
Cortland, NY
Gas Free Seneca
Yvonne Taylor, Vice President
Watkins Glen, NY
Green Education and Legal Fund
Mark Dunlea, Chairperson
Brooklyn, NY
Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace
Arnold Matlin, M.D., Founding Member
Geneseo, New York
Goshen Green Farms
Susan Hito, Owner
Goshen, NY
Green Party of New York State
Howie Hawkins, 2014 Green Party candidate for NY Governor
Buffalo, NY
Green Party of Onondaga
Ursula Rozum
Syracuse, NY
GreeningUSA, Inc.
John Przepiora, President
Syracuse, NY
Greenpeace
Jim Riccio, Senior Nuclear Analyst
Washington, DC
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
Manna Jo Greene
Beacon, NY
IDEAS (Intellectual Decisions on Environmental Awareness Solutions) at Binghamton
Jon Mermelstein, Binghamton University Student
Binghamton, NY
Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition
Michel Lee, Leadership Council
Ossining, NY
Long Island Progressive Coalition
Lisa Tyson, Director
Massapequa, NY
Mid-Hudson Sierra Club
Joanne Steele, Chair
Poughkeepsie, NY
MK Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence
Kit Miller, Director
Rochester, NY
More Sound Recording Studio
Jason "Jocko" Randall, Owner
Syracuse, NY
New York City Friends of Clearwater
Edie Kantrowitz, President
New York, NY
New York Climate Action Group
Judith Canepa, Co-Founder
New York, NY
New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG)
Russ Haven, Legislative Counsel
Albany, NY
New York State Sustainable Business Council
Laura Ornstein, Coordinator
Bronx, NY
Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson
Jonathan Bix
Poughkeepsie, New York
North Country 350
Ginger Storey-Welch, Local leader for 350.org
Colton, NY
North Fork Environmental Council
William Toedter, President
Mattituck, NY
Nuclear Free World
Diane Swords, Chair
Syracuse, NY
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Timothy Judson, Executive Director
Takoma Park, MD
NYC Safe Energy Campaign
Ken Gale, Founder
New York, NY
Occupy Bergen County
Sally Jane Gellert, Member
Teaneck, NJ
One World Life Systems
Pastor Michael-Vincent Crea, Pastor
New York, NY
Ontario Clean Air Alliance
Angela Bischoff, Outreach Director
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Partnership for the Public good
Sam Magavern, Co-director
Buffalo, NY
Peace Action New York State
Kate Alexander, Director of Policy and Outreach
New York, NY
Peace Action of Staten Island
Ilya Geller, Co-Chair
Staten Island, New York
People for Animal Rights
Linda A. DeStefano, President
Syracuse, NY
People of Albany United for Safe Energy - PAUSE
Diana Wright, Facilitator
Albany, NY
Physicians for Social Responsibility/New York
Shannon Gearhart, MD, MPH
New York, NY
Pilgrim-St. Luke's United Church of Christ
Reverend Justo González, II
Buffalo, NY
Promoting Health and Sustainable Energy (PHASE)
Susan Hito Shapiro, President
Nanuet, NY
Protect Orange County.org
Randolph Hurst, LMSW
Slate Hill, NY
Protecting Our Waters
Iris Marie Bloom, Director
Hudson Valley, NY
Psychologists for Social Responsibility -- Environmental Action Group
Dr. Susan Spieler, Clinical Psychologist
New York, NY
Public Citizen
Tyson Slocum
Director, Public Citizen's Energy Program
Washington, DC
PUSH Buffalo
Clarke Gocker, Director of Policy and Strategy
Buffalo, NY
Radiation and Public Health Project (RPHP)
Joseph Mangano, President
Ocean City, NJ
Renewable Energy Long Island
Gordian Raacke, Executive Director
East Hampton, NY
Rochester People's Climate Coalition
Linda Isaacson Fedele, Leadership Team
Rochester, NY
ROCSPOT
Susan Spencer, PhD, President and CEO
Rochester, NY
RUPCO
Guy Thomas Kempe, VP Community Development
Kingston, NY
Safe Energy Rights Group (SEnRG)
Nancy Vann, President
Peekskill, NY
Sane Energy Project
Patrick Robbins, Co-Director
Brooklyn, NY
ShaleshockCNY
Linda A. DeStefano, Member of Executive Committee
Syracuse, NY
Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter
Erin Riddle, Chair
Owego, NY
Sierra Club Niagara Group
Pamela Hughes, Chair
Williamsville, NY
Sierra Club NYC Group
Allison Tupper, Chair, NYC Group ExCom
New York, NY
Sierra Club, Iroquois Group
Linda A. DeStefano, Conservation Chair
Syracuse, NY
Solar Liberty
Carter Powell
Buffalo, New York
Stony Point Conference Center
Rick Ufford-Chase, Co-Director
Stony Point, NY
Stop the Algonquin Pipeline Expansion (SAPE)
Suzannah Glidden, Co-founder
North Salem, NY
SUN DAY Campaign
Ken Bossong, Executive Director
Takoma Park, MD
Sustainable Cortland
Beth Klein, Board President
Cortland, NY
Sustainable McDonough
Steve Ellsworth
Oxford, NY
Sustainable Otsego
Adrian Kuzminski, Moderator
Fly Creek, NY
Sustainable Tompkins
Gay Nicholson, President
Ithaca, NY
Syracuse Community Choir
Karen Mihalyi, Director
Syracuse, NY
Syracuse Cultural Workers
Dik Cool, Publisher
Syracuse, NY
Syracuse Peace Council
Carol Baum
Syracuse, NY
Syracuse United Neighbors, Inc
Richard Puchalski, Executive Director
Syracuse, NY
The Green Resource Hub of the Finger Lakes
Maribeth Rubenstein, Board President
Ithaca, NY
The Partnership for Onondaga Creek
Dhiki Drury, Program Director
Syracuse, NY
The Point CDC
Angela Tovar, Director of Community Development
Bronx, NY
United for Action
Ling Tsou, Co-founder
New York, NY
Upstate New York for Bernie Sanders
Scott Noren
Ithaca, NY
Uranium Watch
Sarah Fields, Director
Moab, Utah
Water Equality
Daniel Morrissey, Founder
Albany, NY
Women's Healthy Environments Network
Carlisle Kent, Board Director
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Workers' Center of Central New York
Rebecca Fuentes
Syracuse, NY
