Investing in nuclear: do the risks outweigh the rewards? 

Expanded nuclear power is under serious consideration to be New York state’s next step toward meeting its energy needs and climate targets for lower carbon emissions. 

In September, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) proposed a Draft Blueprint for Consideration of Advanced Nuclear Technologies, which was open until early November for public feedback. On Nov. 15, NYSERDA announced its submission of a Request for Information (RFI) to find organizations or individuals that want to play a role in the state’s nuclear future. 

Earlier this year, Gov. Kathy Hochul hosted a “Future Energy Economy Summit” in Syracuse, New York. The meeting gathered representatives from around the globe to discuss strategies for bolstering clean energy sources in New York state. Also in attendance outside of the summit were advocacy groups, such as Food & Water Watch, protesting against the development of further nuclear technologies. 

According to New York’s Clean Energy Standard, the state should have a zero-emission electric grid by 2040. Since fossil fuels are not burned during the actual production of power at nuclear plants — meaning nuclear power does not directly produce carbon emissions — it is expected to contribute alongside solar and wind power toward meeting this goal. However, some nuclear facilities do involve fossil fuel burning during their construction and the process of collecting the uranium needed to operate, giving them an indirect carbon footprint. 

Of the four operational nuclear reactors in the state, two are located at Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station in Scriba, New York, approximately six miles away from Oswego County. These reactors are capable of producing up to 1,907 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power more than one million homes. If their operating licenses are not renewed, the reactors will expire in 2029 and 2046.

Alyse Peterson, NYSERDA senior advisor for nuclear coordination and radioactive waste policy, said that the draft blueprint is a starting point meant to list potential considerations for nuclear technology, representing New York’s first move toward looking at more nuclear energy. 

“We’re seeing a big push at the federal level, a lot of incentives being put out there. Other states are looking at it very very strongly, so it certainly makes sense for New York to explore the possibilities associated with nuclear,” Peterson said, “We shouldn’t be ignoring what is out there and what is being looked at so strongly by others.” 

Critics of nuclear expansion argue that its environmental impacts offset the benefits. Don Hughes, the conservation chair of the Sierra Club Central-Northern New York Group, explained his view of “clean nuclear energy” as a misnomer. His critique is based on the significant environmental impact caused during the nuclear power cycle, including the mining and refinement of uranium used as fuel. 

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, radioactive waste from uranium mines can pose a contamination threat to surface and groundwater if handled improperly. Historically, this pollution has disproportionately affected Navajo lands in the American southwest, where more than half of the abandoned mines from the mid-1900s remain. 

“If you look at what’s coming out of the smokestack, it’s true there’s no carbon, you’re not burning anything—but all of these other things have a carbon footprint. We don’t even know what the carbon footprint of the waste disposal is because we haven’t figured out what to do,” Hughes said.  

Director of the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force David Arquette said that the HETF opposes the renewal and expansion of nuclear reactors because of the environmental degradation caused by the full life cycle of nuclear power. 

“[Nuclear energy] goes against all our traditions and our teachings that we’ve been put here on Earth to take care of Mother Earth. And we are not in support of anything that upsets our environment or the natural world which we are dependent on,” Arquette said. “What I figure is [the reactors] should be allowed to die gracefully instead of resuscitating them.” 

Some residents of the nearby community have different sentiments. Bill McSweeney is a longtime resident of Scriba, who now serves as a town councilperson. Growing up around the construction of Nine Mile Point, he never felt unsafe and appreciated the economic and industrial growth the facility brought. 

McSweeney added that he felt strongly in favor of renewing the reactors and that expansion of nuclear power seemed an inevitable part of the state’s future.

“[Nine Mile Point] understand their place in the community; they’ve always been a friend to us, so I have nothing bad to say about them,” McSweeney said.  

Correction: The original article incorrectly attributed statements to Theresa Smolen that were made by Alyse Peterson, NYSERDA senior advisor for nuclear coordination and radioactive waste policy. The article has been updated with the correct attribution.