MASSENA — Despite some recent opposition to a nuclear facility potentially being placed in the North Country, New York Power Authority President and CEO Justin Driscoll says the responses from potential host communities have been “enthusiastic.”
Driscoll offered an update during a recent NYPA meeting, saying the response to solicitations during the fall were a big success.
“We heard from eight communities that expressed interest in hosting the facility, and 23 potential development partners stepped forward with information about reactor technologies, proposed financing options and delivery partners. We’re currently analyzing those responses now,” he said.
Among the host community applicants were St. Lawrence County, Jefferson, Broome, Wayne Schuyler and Oswego counties, as well as the city of Dunkirk, as well as a bid from Rochester.
Officials said nothing is set in stone currently and an extensive review process will be undertaken before the next steps are revealed.
In total, 23 firms have also submitted RFIs to build nuclear facilities as part of the Power Authority’s plan to bring 1 GW of nuclear energy to the state’s grid.
Among the companies that submitted proposals are Constellation
The list of companies willing to work with NYPA to build the facility include Constellation Energy Generation, Westinghouse Electric Company, Rolls-Royce SMR Limited, X Energy LLC, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy collaboration and Oppenheimer Energy.
Many of the companies have ties to large-scale manufactures, including auto makers like Rolls Royce and Hyundai.
Solicitations are expected to be issued to potential hosts and developers alike later this year after the state and NYPA advance further governance around nuclear power, Driscoll said.
He continued, saying NYPA was “surprised on the upside” by the number of RFIs submitted.
“I think certainly on the community side, I think that surprised a lot of people, and I think we really heard from almost everybody in the nuclear ecosystem that came forward. A lot of familiar names that we had already learned about in some of our prep work, if you will, going into that. Surprised on the upside,” Driscoll said.
Driscoll also touched on a recent Memorandum of Understanding with the province of Ontario that state officials signed off on late last year.
“We entered into a memorandum of understanding with Ontario, and we had a great event with Gov. Hochul and Premier Ford. We’re really excited about working closely with them, and we’re already starting to create work streams with them and developing kind of a coordinated strategy around how we’ll work together to advance not only the work they’re doing, but they’ll hopefully bring us along,” he said.
That agreement will see the province and state share resources and expertise as both work towards creating a “more sustainable and stable power grid,” officials previously said.
“We’re going to be a little behind them, as everybody else in the industry will be, but hopefully in the best position to be able to learn from them given our existing relationships,” he said.
Assemblyman Scott Gray has also commented on the prospects of the North Country playing host to a facility, saying the RFI process “sent a clear message” to state leaders.
“The extent of interest submitted through the NYPA RFI sends a clear message: this region is ready to compete, host, and build. There is a real opportunity to develop an energy-generation hub economy, anchored by reliable power, skilled workers, and a community that understands large-scale infrastructure,” Gray said.
Gray said it is a “step-by-step process” that the North Country will undertake to position itself for consideration.
“This is a step-by-step process, and the work is moving in the right direction. The RFI responses from St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties reflect momentum, and that momentum needs to be converted into investment, jobs, and long-term affordability for ratepayers,” Gray said.
St. Lawrence County in particular is viewed as a prime spot to place a facility, with Massena at the forefront.
Village and town officials alike attended both the forum held at Alexandria Bay last year, as well as a second forum at Clarkson University during the fall.
Following the Alexandria Bay event, both boards passed resolutions in support of bringing a facility to Massena.
At November’s Village Board meeting, Mayor Greg Paquin said the village, in conjunction with the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency, intended to submit an RFI.
“It’s a step in the process, but I think we’re ahead of most other communities in terms of preparation and ready to give information that’s needed,” Paquin said.
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