Eight communities and 23 companies, including reactor developers, construction firms, and utilities, have expressed interest in participating in New York state’s plan to develop at least 1 gigawatt of new nuclear power in the upstate area. The communities and companies were responding to solicitations from the New York Power Authority (NYPA) for developers and partners who want to support the agency’s advanced nuclear power projects and are able to provide viable project concepts, as well as for communities to host nuclear facilities and backers that could support such projects.
In June 2025, New York Governor Kathy Hochul instructed NYPA to add new nuclear capacity to the state by building a large-scale nuclear plant or several small modular reactors. She noted that the new capacity was needed to provide electricity for the data centres and semiconductor factories that are envisioned for upstate New York. “I’m going to lean into making sure that every company that wants to come to New York and everyone who wants to live here will never have to worry about reliability and affordability when it comes to their utility costs,” she said.
The following upstate communities responded to the NYPA solicitation: Broome County, Jefferson County, Oswego County (already home to three operating nuclear reactors), Schuyler County, St Lawrence County, Wayne County, City of Dunkirk, and RED-Rochester (manager of energy use in Eastman Business Park, near the Robert Emmet Ginna nuclear plant)
The following companies responded to the solicitation to partner with the NYPA in new nuclear developments: Accenture, AECOM, Blue Energy, Burns & McDonnell, Candu Energy, Constellation Energy (owner of three existing upstate nuclear plants), Elementl Power, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Holtec International (currently dismantling Indian Point), Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company, Metro Nuclear, NANO Nuclear Energy, Natura Resources, NextEra Energy Resources Nuclear Promise X, nVision Energy, Oppenheimer Energy, Rolls Royce SMR Limited, TerraPower, The Nuclear Company, Westinghouse Electric Company, WSP USA and X Energy.
NYPA expects to announce the names of the developers and communities selected for the nuclear projects later this year. It also intends to provide $40 million in annual funding over the next four years to develop a skilled workforce in the state for these advanced nuclear initiatives.
“NYPA is quickly advancing efforts to develop an advanced nuclear project in Upstate New York that will strengthen the reliability and resiliency of our state’s electric grid and deliver substantial economic benefits to residents, said NYPA President & CEO Justin E Driscoll. “The enthusiastic response to the power authority’s first round of solicitations reflects a strong desire from communities and collaborators that are ready and willing to help us lead New York into its clean energy future.”
In her State of the State 2026 book – a 164-page manifesto covering all aspects of policy – Kathy Hochul expands her nuclear plans revealing plans to establish a Nuclear Reliability Backbone for a Zero-Emission Grid. “Governor Hochul will ensure that New York State leads in the race to harness safe and reliable advanced nuclear energy to power homes and businesses with zero-emissions electricity for generations to come,” she says. “To catalyse progress towards those goals, the Governor will advance a new initiative, the Nuclear Reliability Backbone, directing State agencies to establish a clear pathway for additional advanced nuclear generation to support grid reliability. The Nuclear Reliability Backbone will be developed by a new Department of Public Service (DPS) process to consider, review, and facilitate a cost-effective pathway to 4 gigawatts of new nuclear energy that will combine with existing nuclear generation and the New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) previously announced 1 gigawatt project, to create an 8.4 gigawatt “backbone” of reliable energy for New Yorkers.”
This was welcomed by Nuclear New York, which describes itself as “an independent, non-partisan advocacy organisation working towards a prosperous decarbonised future and nature conservation”. It said: “By setting a goal of five gigawatts of new nuclear, the Governor has embraced the strategic framework that positions New York to lead the nation in cost-effective, programmatic nuclear deployment. This announcement represents a fundamental evolution in New York’s approach to nuclear energy. Rather than viewing advanced nuclear as individual, standalone projects, the state is now pursuing the proven strategy that brought costs down dramatically in South Korea, France, and other successful nuclear programmes: standardised, sequential deployment with committed order books.”
