Jun 24, 2025
OBSERVER file photo The former NRG power plant in Dunkirk closed in 2016.
Gov. Kathy Hochul wants New York state to build the first new United States nuclear power plant in the past 15 years. Sen. George Borrello wants it built in Dunkirk.
First reported by the Wall Street Journal, Hochul announced Monday that she is directing the New York Power Authority to develop and construct a zero-emission advanced nuclear power plant in Upstate New York. The decision comes after struggles to permit and finance off-shore wind projects in the Atlantic Ocean and concerns raised by the New York Independent System Operator of increasing electric shortfalls as the state takes natural gas “peaker” plants out of service.
“As New York State electrifies its economy, deactivates aging fossil fuel power generation and continues to attract large manufacturers that create good-paying jobs, we must embrace an energy policy of abundance that centers on energy independence and supply chain security to ensure New York controls its energy future,” Hochul said. “This is the second time during my administration that I am calling on the New York Power Authority to lead a critical energy initiative, and just as it is doing with the expedited buildout of renewable energy and transmission, it will now safely and rapidly deploy clean, reliable nuclear power for the benefit of all New Yorkers.”
NYPA, in coordination with the Department of Public Service (DPS), will seek to develop at least one new nuclear energy facility with a combined capacity of no less than one gigawatt of electricity, either alone or in partnership with private entities, to support the state’s electric grid and the people and businesses that rely on it.
Borrello wasted little time pushing Hochul and the New York Power Authority to consider the mothballed NRG power plant in Dunkirk as a potential site. The Dunkirk plant formerly burned coal and was to be repowered with natural gas before the project fell apart. Shuttering NRG is one of the reasons the city of Dunkirk has faced ballooning budget deficits in recent years as state transition aid for the NRG plant came to an end and the city was unable to make corresponding spending cuts. Those deficits have led to millions of dollars in state bailouts the past two years.
“Dunkirk already has suffered severely since the NRG Power Plant closing,” Borrello said. “Costing the city jobs and critically needed revenue. Rather than offering short-term, costly bailouts like the $13.7 million loan at a steep 7.5% interest rate, Governor Hochul should prioritize long-term investment by converting the NRG site into one of the state’s new nuclear facilities. This would bring back critical tax revenue, generate well-paying jobs, and deliver the long-overdue economic recovery that Dunkirk desperately needs. If Governor Hochul is truly committed to supporting the City of Dunkirk, she must make the NRG Power Plant a part of her plan.”
In July, the ISO’s 2025 Power Trends report showed a continued decline in reliability margins as fossil-based generation retires with new supply resources not keeping pace with expected demand growth. The ISO is forecasting an increase in large loads as things like semiconductor manufacturing, generative AI and data center projects come online in addition to the state’s efforts to shift to an all-renewable power grid. .
The ISO’s short-term cure is to repower aging or perhaps shuttered fossil fuel plants to keep the power grid reliable. The ISO’s forecast scenarios indicate that by 2030 demand could increase by an additional 1,600 megawatts (MW) to 4,000 megawatts. Load forecasters anticipate as much as 2,500 megawatts of new demand to be on the power grid by 2035, including the potential for more than 1,300 megawatts in the Western New York region.
“Simply put, as New York seeks to retire more fossil fuel units in the coming years it will be essential to deploy new energy resources with the same reliability attributes to maintain grid reliability. Until new, non-emitting alternatives like hydrogen or advanced nuclear generation are developed and commercialized, fossil resources are needed to fill an essential role in preserving reliable grid operations,” the Power Trend 2025 report states.
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