Letter Comes on 15-Year Anniversary of Fukishima Disaster
In a set of letters sent to Governor Hochul today, 200 national, state, local groups and representatives from 6 Indigenous Nations demanded that Hochul drop her stated plans to build 5 gigawatts of new nuclear power in the state. The advocates’ letter was signed by more than 200 groups including Food & Water Watch, Alliance for a Green Economy, NY Renews (a coalition of 400+ organizations), NIRS, Citizen Action, NYPIRG, PUSH Buffalo, and Make the Road NY. The Indigenous nations’ letter came from the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force, which includes delegates from six member nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, including Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora.
In her annual State of the State address in January, Hochul announced her plan to build a massive amount of new nuclear power, greatly expanding on the 1-gigawatt goal she set last year. 5 gigawatts would be more nuclear generation capacity than the entire United States has built in the last 30 years.
These letters were sent to the governor’s administration on the 15-year anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, a grim reminder of the public health and environmental consequences of nuclear power and the reality that New York’s existing reactors are almost identical in design to the doomed Fukishima reactors.
In the letters, groups point out that the cost of building new nuclear reactors in New York is in direct opposition to the Governor’s goal of making energy more affordable – something she continues to claim is a priority and has been the justification for her recent efforts to skirt the state’s existing climate law. Meanwhile, 2 gigawatts of new capacity recently built in Georgia more than doubled in cost to $37 billion, resulting in a 23.6% increase in electricity rates for residents.
The advocacy groups’ letter states, in part: New nuclear reactors are not a climate solution and are a sure path to wasting ratepayer money, driving up our bills, and failing to reduce emissions in the near term. To fulfill your affordability agenda, you must implement solutions proven to reduce energy bills quickly, such as distributed solar, energy efficiency in buildings, rate redesign, and thermal energy networks… Even now, under your purview, New York’s reactors are being bailed out at a total of $40 billion so that Constellation Energy can keep taking a profit from the pockets of your constituents. New reactors will require similar massive infusions of public dollars because they are so expensive to build, maintain, and decommission.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is also voicing support for new nuclear reactors, alongside proposals to reopen shuttered plants, all while decimating the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Last week, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright held a press conference with Congressman Mike Lawler (R) at the shuttered Indian Point nuclear plant, calling for its rebuilding and reopening. Their press conference was met with a crowd of anti-nuclear protesters.
In January, Hochul’s NY Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a $33 billion, 20-year extension of subsidies for the four dangerously old upstate nuclear reactors at Lake Ontario, running through 2049. This action represents the largest single use of NY ratepayer dollars compared to any other PSC-approved energy program in history. All four reactors are owned by Constellation Energy, making this the largest subsidy to a single energy corporation in New York State history. The $33 billion follows another nuclear handout of $7+ billion given to Constellation starting in 2016.
