#FYISI: Could Staten Island be home a nuclear power plant?
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Could a nuclear power plant open on Staten Island after President Donald Trump’s freeze on new permits and leases for offshore wind projects?
In her Jan. 14 State of the State address, Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke to the need for a new nuclear energy blueprint to move the state forward, voicing support for Constellation Energy to explore adding one or more new advanced nuclear reactors at its Nine Mile Point site in Oswego County.
New York is actively working to reach 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035, as a part of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The goal of the act, per the New York State Senate, is “to adopt measures to put the state on a path to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 85% by 2050 and net zero emissions in all sectors of the economy.”
However, with Trump’s executive order potentially strangling the state’s offshore wind plans, the governor is now looking towards energy produced by nuclear power.
“If the governor is interested in decarbonizing the economy and offshore wind is being discouraged at the federal level, the state has to look at other alternatives. Nuclear could be that alternative,” Paul DeCotis, senior partner at the West Monroe Partners consulting firm and a former deputy energy secretary for New York State, told Newsday.
Luckily for Staten Island, New York City appears to be off the list of prospective areas to house new plants.
In November, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) issued a Request for Information (RFI) to gauge communities’ interest in housing nuclear power facilities.
The RFI focuses exclusively on communities within the New York Independent System Operator Control Area Load Zones A-F, which cover the area of New York State north and west of the Lower Hudson Valley, ruling out New York City and Long Island, at least for the time being.
How to reach out
“As a born-and-raised Staten Islander, I know the issues that plague borough residents, whether it be torn-up sidewalks or unplowed streets,” said Reporter Jillian Delaney. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel) STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
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