BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Ontario Premier Doug Ford signed a groundbreaking nuclear energy agreement Friday in Buffalo, marking the first advanced nuclear power initiative in New York state in over a generation.
The memorandum of understanding establishes a partnership between Ontario Power Generation and the New York Power Authority to develop small modular reactor technology and bring one gigawatt of new nuclear power to upstate New York within five years.
"That's why I'm so thrilled to be here today to sign this historic, and I emphasize historic, energy agreement that's never been done before with New York and Ontario," Ford said.
WATCH: New York and Ontario sign historic nuclear energy agreement
Under the agreement, Ontario Power Generation will share its expertise in small modular reactors with New York. Ontario operates 17 of Canada's 18 nuclear plants, making it a key partner for New York's nuclear ambitions.
"As part of our deal, Ontario Power Generation and New York Power Authority will work together on developing an implementation of advanced nuclear technology," stated Ford.
The partnership comes after Hochul called on the New York Power Authority last summer to find a way to bring advanced nuclear power to the state.
"This will be the first plant in New York State over a generation," Hochul commented.
The governor emphasized that the partnership addresses three key priorities for New York's energy future.
"It's about reliability, affordability — was also the thousands of jobs are created in the process, and I was excited about that prospect as well," Hochul noted.
23 developers have already expressed interest in building the nuclear projects in New York and eight communities have volunteered to host the new nuclear facility.
I asked Hochul about how they would select a community.
“You mentioned that eight communities have offered to host this facility. What kind of a process will this be?" I asked. "And how fairly can it be conducted? Because obviously it's going to be very beneficial, I would think, to that community?”
“This brings enormous economic benefits as well as the job creation," Hochul said. "We've seen that with our facilities up on Lake Ontario already. It was a few years ago, there was a threat of shutting down, there was a lot of anxiety in the community, because it's hundreds and hundreds of jobs. These are good-paying jobs. What we're looking forward to is the construction jobs, the operating, the maintenance going forward. So, there will be a process to narrow it down to the communities that are selected. But I'm excited that there's so much energy around this. Literally, people really want this to be a place that their community can benefit from.”
But Hochul declined to identify which communities have expressed interest. The governor also noted that safety will be a top priority in the operation of the facilities.
“Safety protocols and regulations will be top-notch,” said Hochul. “We want to make sure that as we embrace this new advanced nuclear, all the anxiety around nuclear when it first came, as I mentioned, we have the oldest operating nuclear facility in the entire country, still operating safely here in the state of New York. So, we're making sure that all the laws are adhered to, that the community embraces this, and know that we'll protect them.”
Hochul even said, “This is not your grandmother’s and your grandfather’s nuclear – this is advanced, state of the art. This is safe.”
The governor said the goal is to cut through regulatory red tape and have the facility constructed within five years.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
