US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has proposed reversing the four-year shutdown of New York’s Indian Point nuclear power plant and restarting the plant.
Wright noted that the effort would receive financial support from the Department of Energy, saying the main goal was to contain the increase in electricity bills paid by New Yorkers.
“Across the Northeast, including New York, Americans are paying some of the highest electricity prices in the country because political leaders blocked critical infrastructure and prematurely closed power plants that provide affordable and abundant energy.” Wright said. “These actions have driven up electricity costs for millions of Americans.”
At the March 5 announcement made at the gates of the power plant, Wright was accompanied by Representative Mike Lawler (RNY) and Krishna Singh, chief executive of power plant owner Holtec International. The Company based in Camden, NJ subsidiaries purchased the three-reactor boiling water plant from Entergy Corp. to carry out the dismantling.
Staunch local opponents of the plant helped force its closure, claiming it posed health hazards to densely populated Westchester County and New York City, 30 miles to the south. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) threw his full support behind the plant’s closing and decommissioning.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) has indicated that she supports the construction of a new nuclear power plant in the state. Nuclear power currently supplies about 20% of New York’s electricity. Elected officials in the Oswego County, N.Y., area where three nuclear power plants currently operate on Lake Ontario say they would welcome another.
In September, Barron’s reported that Holtec had received inquiries from the Trump administration about restarting the Indian Point plant, according to Patrick O’Brien, Holtec’s director of government affairs and communications. According to Barron’s, Holtec said a return to service was possible within four years at a cost of $8 billion to $10 billion, provided construction begins within the next year or two.
