Op-Ed by the Nuclear Information and Resource Service
In case you haven’t noticed, the nuclear industry’s political grip has reached truly absurd levels. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent push for new reactors in New York is alarming—but not exactly shocking. She’s following the path set in 2016, when Gov. Cuomo became the first state leader to push through a nuclear bailout to prevent old, uneconomical reactors from being retired—essentially giving the industry a lifeline when it was circling the drain.
Cuomo admitted to negotiating the $7.6 billion bailout behind closed doors with corporate executives for months, while his Public Service Commission conducted a sham policymaking process. Other states followed suit, handing out billions in subsidies like they were party favors. In Illinois and Ohio, federal prosecutions brought down Speakers of the House, corporate executives, lobbyists, and state officials.
Of course, these bailouts were unpopular, but that didn’t stop the nuclear lobby. Their PR and lobbying machines flooded statehouses with dark money and pro-nuclear propaganda. Suddenly, nuclear was being sold as “clean” and “necessary” for climate and national security.
Now Hochul is using nuclear to stall real progress. The state’s utilities are actively resisting renewable energy expansion. If they actually cared about reducing emissions, they’d be pushing for grid modernization and renewable infrastructure.
The Zero Emission Credit is set at $14.70 per megawatt-hour—basically the same as the federal subsidy under the Inflation Reduction Act. Hochul’s office is spinning this as a win, saying Constellation Energy, the company that owns and operates New York’s upstate nuclear plants, will use federal taxpayer dollars to reimburse New Yorkers for the bailout. But they’re not ending the bailout. The federal subsidies expire in 2032, and Constellation is already laying the groundwork to extend state-level subsidies indefinitely.
Despite all the hype, the facts haven’t changed. Small modular reactors (SMRs) aren’t working—too expensive and unworkable. AP1000 reactors are hugely expensive and face massive supply chain issues. Wind and solar are cheaper, faster to deploy, and more reliable.
This isn’t about climate. It’s about protecting utility profits and keeping the energy system centralized and controlled. Gov. Hochul may have swallowed the nuclear bait—but we don’t have to.