Robert Creenan, Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, NY (TNS)
As New York State looks to add more nuclear power sources, it has formed a partnership with Ontario to bring its expertise in the field.
Govt. Kathy Hochul and Ontario Premier Doug Ford signed an agreement Friday to create a collaborative framework for the development of advanced nuclear technologies between the state and the province, including large reactors and small modular reactors.
“As leaders, we must focus on reliability, sustainability and affordability at the same time,” Hochul said during the announcement at the Albright Knox Art Gallery. “We found a way, and that’s through nuclear power.”
The New York Power Authority and Ontario Power Generation will share information and use their expertise and resources to advance technology and expertise sharing, cross-border ventures, understanding of nuclear finance and economics, and nuclear workforce development.
This comes after Hochul visited the Robert Moses Power Plant this July and announced the state’s intention to build a new 1GW nuclear power plant in Upstate New York. The state’s three current plants, the James A. Fitzpatrick and Nine Mile Point plant in Oswego County and the RE Ginna plant in Wayne County, account for 3.4 GW of power capacity and 20% of the state’s electricity.
Since the request for information deadline earlier this month, 23 developers have expressed interest in building the facility, with eight communities volunteering to host it. NYPA is on track to begin construction by 2033.
In her speech, Hochul noted that the University of Buffalo is part of the $400 million Empire AI consortium and that the semiconductor company Micron is building a $100 billion facility near Syracuse. The state’s power grid is also seeing increased demand from new industrial sites and data centers as the current power infrastructure ages.
“Our ambitions are broad. They’re exciting, but if we don’t help, it doesn’t work,” Hochul said. She also announced $40 million for a new nuclear workforce training program for NYPA in partnership with universities and unions.
Ontario has three nuclear power plants, with their 16 reactors having a combined capacity of 11,813 GW according to the World Nuclear Association, with a potential new facility under development in Wesleyville, Ontario. Canada is also developing the first grid-scale SMR of any G7 country at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, located on Lake Ontario about 20 minutes from downtown Oshawa. OPG also worked with the Tennessee Valley Authority to further develop SMR, with Ford offering to collaborate on the technology with New York State.
Ford said the planned expansion of the Ontario facility will eventually lead to a combined nuclear capacity of 40 GW, enough to power 40 million homes.
“Who do we want to give our energy to? Our closest friends and allies,” Ford said, regardless of whether it’s neighboring New York, Michigan or Minnesota. “The future is to have energy to power companies, to power homes, to power huge data centers that consume huge amounts of energy. We’re here for you.”
The state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, passed in 2019, calls for the state to reduce carbon emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, with a goal of net zero emissions by 2050, along with 100% carbon-free electricity generation by 2040. However, the state’s fossil fuel plan for the coming years still approved energy sources15. energy generating mix.
NYPA’s Renewable Strategic Plan, adopted earlier this month, calls for 5.5 GW of renewable energy capacity between 45 generation projects and 146 distributed storage projects.
© 2025 Niagara Gazette (Niagara Falls, NY). Visit www.niagara-gazette.com. It distributes Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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