New York is going to build the first major new US nuclear-power plant in more than 15 years, in what the Wall Street Journal described as "a big test of President Trump's promise to expedite permitting for such projects."
Governor Kathy Hochul told the outlet that she has directed the New York Power Authority, the state’s public electric utility, to add at least 1 gigawatt of new nuclear-power generation to its portfolio - enough to power approximately one million homes.
“I’m going to lean into making sure that every company that wants to come to New York and everyone who wants to live here will never have to worry about reliability and affordability when it comes to their utility costs,” Hochul said.
The proposed facility will be sited somewhere in upstate New York. The New York Power Authority, established nearly a century ago by then-Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt—will determine the plant’s location and reactor design. Hochul noted that the state may develop the project on its own or in partnership with private industry.
The announcement offers one of the first real-world tests of executive orders signed by President Donald Trump in May to accelerate development of nuclear energy projects. Those orders call for overhauling the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), streamlining project licensing, boosting domestic fuel supplies, and making federal land available for military or data center reactors.
Hochul, who has prioritized energy infrastructure since taking office in 2021, said she has persistently advocated with Trump to streamline nuclear permitting. She credited recent discussions between the two for the lifting of a stop-work order on a major offshore wind project and the revival of two stalled natural-gas pipeline developments.
“Why does it take a decade?” she asked. “That’s why no one is doing it; the barriers are too high.”
Only five new commercial reactors have been brought online in the U.S. since 1991, insufficient to offset the wave of plant retirements. Nuclear capacity has declined by more than 4 percent from its 2012 peak, while solar and natural gas have surged. Federal projections forecast further shrinkage in nuclear capacity, even as many plants seek license extensions. Nuclear currently provides about 19 percent of U.S. electricity.
The closure of Indian Point, located about 40 miles from Manhattan and once responsible for 25 percent of New York City’s electricity, underscored the consequences of losing baseload nuclear power. When Indian Point was shuttered in 2021 over safety and environmental concerns, the state turned to fossil fuels to fill the gap, undermining its broader climate goals.
“There was no Plan B,” Hochul said.
In recent years, nuclear energy has gained new traction as a politically viable bridge between fossil fuels and renewables. Tech companies building energy-intensive AI data centers have been especially eager to see nuclear capacity expanded.
Despite lingering concerns over radioactive waste and nuclear accidents, proponents argue that nuclear remains the only scalable, emissions-free power source capable of running 24/7.
Hochul cited Microsoft’s push to restart the undamaged unit at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island as evidence that public opinion has shifted. The infamous 1979 partial meltdown at that site virtually halted U.S. nuclear expansion for decades.
“That is a place now where the community around it has overcome that traumatic experience,” she said. “That’s a real signal to the rest of the country that the time has come.”
Potential locations for New York’s new reactor include sites near the state’s three existing plants, all owned or majority-owned by Constellation Energy. The project may involve one large reactor or a series of smaller units.
Constellation and state officials are already collaborating on a federal grant to explore expanding the Nine Mile Point Clean Energy Center in Oswego. New York is also in talks with Canadian authorities to learn from Ontario’s initiative to build four small modular reactors, factory-built designs that could lower costs and shorten construction timelines.
At the same time, New York is studying the costly lessons of Plant Vogtle in Georgia, where two new reactors began construction in 2009 but were not completed until 2023 and 2024. Their final price tag exceeded $30 billion, more than double the original estimate.
As New York steps back into the nuclear arena, the project could become a proving ground not just for the state’s energy strategy, but for Trump’s deregulatory blueprint as well.
Keep an eye on: LEU, CCJ, NNE, OKLO and SMR
