Prospect of Indian Point re-opening floated this week

BUCHANAN – The question has been asked since the Indian Point Energy Center closed in 2021.

Could the nuclear power plant ever reopen? The prospect of Indian Point ever being restarted seems like a long shot. However, a comment made by the President of the company charged with dismantling the 2,000 megawatt plant got some people talking about the prospect.

“I’m getting so many people asking me from New York (restarting Indian Point) is possible,” Holtec International President Kelly Trice told Politico. “The answer is yes.”

The price tag of a restart would be $10 billion, which would require state and federal funding. Patrick O’Brien, a spokesperson for Holtec, clarified Trice’s comments.

“The question we have been asked the most, since we began the historical restart of Palisades (Nuclear Power Plant in Michigan), is can IPEC return to service?” O’Brien told Mid-Hudson News. “We wanted to answer that question once and for all, that right now it can be, should there be political will, and that it would take four years and 8-10 billion.

“We are not actively looking to restart, just letting people know if the energy need and political will exist, we would work with the stakeholders,” O’Brien added.

Assemblyman Matt Slater (R,C-Yorktown) said that restarting Indian Point needs “to be part of the conversation.”

“We are facing a reliability and affordability crisis with our energy supply because of poor planning when the plant was shut down,” added Slater, who represents parts of Putnam and Westchester counties. “The state needs to take a hard look at the numbers and determine whether bringing Indian Point back online is safe and makes economic sense for New Yorkers.”

Tracy Brown, President of the environmental group Riverkeeper, blasted the idea of restarting Indian Point.

“Holtec has failed at one of its most critical tasks at Indian Point: identifying and containing radioactive contamination,” Brown said. “The groundwater at Indian Point remains polluted with radioactive materials, yet Holtec has no plans to clean up or prevent the spread of these harmful pollutants, including strontium, cesium, and tritium. Just last year, Holtec discovered previously unknown radioactive cesium in the soil at part of the site. Holtec’s inaction presents ongoing risks to the Hudson River and is an insurmountable barrier to any redevelopment aspirations they may have.”

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo reached a deal with Indian Point’s owner, Entergy, to shut the plant over safety and environmental concerns. The shutdown of the plant increased the state’s short-term reliance on natural gas plants, despite its goal of reducing carbon emissions. Cuomo, now running for New York City Mayor, and others who fought for its shutdown argue any benefits from the plant are eclipsed by the nightmare prospect of a major nuclear accident or a terror strike 25 miles north of New York City.

Indian Point was shut down permanently by Entergy on April 30, 2021, after providing electricity to the region for nearly 60 years.