Energy Secretary Backs Restart of Indian Point Nuclear Plant in NY
Decommissioning already is far along, and local opponents remain
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright addresses the media with Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) at the gate to the former Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, N.Y., which closed down in 2021.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has proposed putting the four-year-old decommissioning of New York's Indian Point nuclear power plant into reverse, refitting the plant for operation again.
Wright signaled that the effort would receive support from the U.S. Dept. of Energy, saying the primary goal was to hold down the rising electric utility bills being paid by New Yorkers.
“Across the Northeast, including in New York, Americans are paying some of the highest electricity prices in the country because political leaders blocked critical infrastructure and prematurely shutdown power plants that deliver affordable, abundant power,” said Wright. “These actions have driven up electricity costs for millions of Americans."
At the March 6 announcement held at the gate of the plant in Westchester County about 35 miles north of midtown Manhattan, Wright was accompanied by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Krishna Singh, CEO of power plant owner Holtec International. The Camden, N.J.-based firm's subsidiaries purchased the three-reactor, boiling water-type plant from Entergy Corp. in order to perform the decommissioning.
Staunch local opponents to the plant helped force its closure, claiming it posed health hazards to the densely populated county and to New York City. Former state Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) put his full support behind closing the plant and decommissioning it.
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has indicated she supports construction of a new nuclear power plant in the state. Nuclear power currently supplies around 20% of New York's electricity. Elected officials in the area of Oswego County, N.Y., where three nuclear power plants on Lake Ontario currently operate, say they would welcome another. The state Power Authority more recently has proposed building four more facilities, likely small modular reactors
In September, Barron's reported Holtec had received inquiries from the Trump administration about restarting the Indian Point plant, according to Patrick O’Brien, the firm's director of government affairs and communications. According to Barron's, Holtec said return to service was possible in four years at a cost of $8 billion to $10 billion as long as work begins in the next year or two.
Holtec is currently working to restart the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan.
