FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: info@agreeny.org or 315-480-1515 x 702
June 27, 2024
This week, Governor Hochul announced a plan for the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to build a publicly funded nuclear power plant. In response to Governor Hochul’s announcement, Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE) Executive Director, Jessica Azulay, issued the following statement:
“New Yorkers cannot afford another bill-raising boondoggle. The Governor should focus on helping us reduce energy costs now through energy efficiency and building more affordable, reliable energy solutions like wind, solar, and geothermal, which will bring New Yorkers lower energy bills today and protect our planet tomorrow. We cannot afford to chase promises from a climate denying White House that will only lead to wasted money, wasted time, and dangerous toxic waste.”
NYPA & Nuclear Background:
- A comparable recent project, Georgia’s Vogtle Nuclear plant, became the most expensive power plant in history, taking seven years longer than planned to finish and going far over budget. This is considered the norm for the nuclear industry.
- NYPA owned nuclear power plants in the past, in which it had one of the worst track records in the nuclear industry. The Power Authority was cited for many safety violations, and both the FitzPatrick and Indian Point 3 operated by NYPA had to be shut down for years at a time due to the extent of safety problems.
- NYPA ultimately sold its nuclear plants with no public input 25 years ago, at a near 2 billion dollar loss (in today’s dollars), the largest privatization of public assets in New York history.
- In 2017, the Power Authority freely gave away $1.8 billion in ratepayer funds collected for decommissioning FitzPatrick and Indian Point 3 to the private corporations that had previously bought the reactors from NYPA at a loss, again with no public review.
- 25 years after exiting the nuclear power industry, NYPA no longer has any experience operating nuclear power plants or managing nuclear construction projects.
- If even the nuclear industry isn’t willing to shoulder the costs and financial risks of building a new nuclear power plant, New York taxpayers and ratepayers should not have to either.
For more information on nuclear myths, see AGREE’s Green Economy Library.
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