New Yorkers are paying more for energy than almost anyone else in the country, and the trend is worsening. Since the passage of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) in 2019, residential electricity prices in New York have risen 58%, outpacing the national average of 36%. It is the predictable result of an energy policy that has leaned too heavily on aspirational timelines and too lightly on the practical question every family asks at the kitchen table: Can we afford to keep the lights on?

The governor has acknowledged the affordability crisis and proposed adjustments to the CLCPA’s timeline, but adjusting deadlines alone will not solve the fundamental problem. We have a supply issue. New York’s grid needs what it has always needed: a reliable backbone of dispatchable, emission-free baseload power. Advanced nuclear energy is the answer staring us in the face.

I say this not as an ideologue, but as a pragmatist. I believe in an all-of-the-above energy strategy. Wind and solar have a role to play, and the diversity of generation sources is itself a benefit to ratepayers because it provides a range of cost structures in the energy supply marketplace. But here is the reality that too often goes unspoken: Not all power is dispatchable, and electric systems need to be primarily built around reliability during peak demand. This winter’s weather shows how risky dependence on wind and solar is when the sun sets, snow covers panels and the wind dies down; someone still needs to keep the grid humming. Without a firm foundation of generation that operates around the clock, any single source, no matter how abundant, becomes expensive because the system has no fallback. A diversified grid with a strong baseload backbone keeps prices stable for consumers. Advanced nuclear provides exactly that.

Nuclear energy is the highest-capacity-factor resource in the electric generation fleet, averaging more than 92%, with some advanced designs reaching 98%. That means nuclear plants produce power nearly continuously—summer or winter, rain or shine, calm or gale, day or night. Nuclear is always delivered to the grid, regardless of the weather.

Consider the analogy of hydroelectric power. When New York built the St. Lawrence Power Project in Massena and authorized the Niagara Power Project decades ago, the upfront construction costs were enormous. Critics at the time questioned the investment, just as they are now. But those facilities have operated for more than 60 years, producing affordable, clean electricity that has powered entire regions and attracted industry and jobs to New York. The levelized cost of that generation—the total cost spread over the asset's life—was among the lowest of any source. Advanced nuclear follows the same economic logic. The capital investment is significant, but these plants are designed to operate for 80 years or more. Over that lifespan, the cost per megawatt-hour becomes highly competitive. Wind turbines and solar panels, by comparison, have useful lives of roughly 20 to 25 years before they must be replaced, and the environmental cost of that replacement cycle, from mining earth minerals to blade and panel disposal, is not as clean as many assume.

Let me be direct about something the energy conversation too often glosses over: While the source of wind and solar energy is indeed clean, converting that energy into electricity through turbines and panels is not as environmentally benign as it is often portrayed. 

Manufacturing solar panels requires energy-intensive processes and materials, including toxic substances such as cadmium, lead and other heavy metals. Wind turbine blades, many of which stretch longer than a football field, require large amounts of lubricants, gear oil, greases and hydraulic fluids that are refined from crude oil, and the blades are largely non-recyclable. They are piling up in boneyards across the country. The mining of rare earth minerals, essential to both technologies, carries a significant environmental footprint. 

Advanced nuclear, by contrast, means that a 1-inch-tall piece of uranium has the energy equivalent of 120 gallons of oil, 1 ton of coal, or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas. 

Nuclear offers ancillary economic and environmental benefits that renewables cannot match. A single nuclear plant employs 500 to 800 workers in permanent, high-skill, high-wage operations jobs—positions that pay, on average, more than double the national median wage. These are not temporary construction positions; they are multi-generational careers that sustain families and communities for decades. The nuclear sector also has the highest unionization rate of any energy source, which matters to working families across the North Country and throughout New York.

The construction phase itself is a major economic engine. Building a large reactor employs well over 1,000 workers at peak construction—welders, electricians, pipefitters, heavy equipment operators, engineers and project managers. For every 10 direct jobs in the nuclear industry, an additional 18 are generated in the surrounding economy through supply chain activity and local spending. These are exactly the kinds of quality jobs our communities need.

And the economic benefits do not end at the plant gate. Reliable, dispatchable power is a magnet for manufacturing and energy-intensive industries looking to grow. Communities with dependable baseload generation attract investment that communities dependent solely on intermittent power simply cannot. Hydroelectric power demonstrated this truth in New York, where affordable New York Power Authority (NYPA) power has been the foundation of employment for generations. Advanced nuclear power can do the same for the next generation.

I am encouraged that the governor directed NYPA to develop at least 1 gigawatt of advanced nuclear capacity in Upstate New York, and that in January 2026, she outlined a vision for a Nuclear Reliability Backbone of 8.4 gigawatts comprising existing nuclear capacity, the NYPA initiative and an additional 4 gigawatts of new development. A selection of eight municipalities, including St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties, submitted responses to NYPA’s request for information for potential host communities, and interest across the state has been overwhelming. The North Country is ready to compete for this investment, and I will continue to advocate for our region every step of the way.

For those concerned about safety: Today's advanced reactors automatically shut down and cool themselves using gravity and natural convection, no pumps, backup generators or human intervention needed. Engineers call them walk-away safe. Multiple independent protection layers support this, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has thoroughly tested and approved these systems. The physics, not the operator, ensures the safest possible operating conditions of the generator's cheap, reliable power.

The construction and permitting landscape for nuclear power is also being fundamentally restructured for efficiency. The ADVANCE Act, signed into law in 2024, and Executive Order 14300, signed in 2025, have together driven the NRC to reduce licensing timelines by roughly 40% and staff hours by 35%. The NRC completed its review of TerraPower’s Natrium reactor construction permit in just 18 months—nine months ahead of schedule and under budget. These are not incremental improvements; they represent a seismic change in how America builds nuclear power.

Modern advanced reactors are also designed for modular, factory-fabricated construction, rather than building every component on-site—a process that historically has driven up costs and timelines. Major reactor modules are manufactured in controlled factory environments with higher quality standards, then shipped to the site for assembly. This approach reduces construction schedules, improves quality control and creates manufacturing jobs throughout the domestic supply chain. It is the same principle that made American manufacturing great: standardize, build efficiently and deliver on time.

More than 20 states have begun moving toward nuclear energy projects. Many of them are removing outdated statutory barriers to advanced nuclear development. New York should not be left behind. We have existing nuclear expertise, the grid infrastructure, willing host communities and economic need. What we require is the political will to move forward decisively.

Nuclear and hydropower deliver firm, dispatchable and emission-free electricity 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, along with high-paying jobs, robust tax revenues and long-term economic development. No other clean energy source can make that claim at scale.

I am a friend to all energy sources that serve the people of this state well. But friendship requires honesty: New York cannot meet its reliability needs, affordability goals or emissions targets without a serious commitment to advanced nuclear power. The technology is ready. However, we must maintain the reliability of natural gas plants while moving toward building advanced nuclear energy generation. The regulatory pathway is being cleared. Communities across Upstate New York are eager to host these facilities. Now it is time for Albany to act.

The North Country has always understood that reliable power is the foundation of a strong economy. From the St. Lawrence Power Project to the proposals now before NYPA, our region has embraced the infrastructure that keeps the lights on and the jobs coming. Advanced nuclear is the next chapter in that story, and it is a story about building something that lasts, not for a decade or two, but for generations.