Albany, NY – On Tuesday and Wednesday, hundreds of concerned residents joined local advocates, community leaders, and representatives from several Haudenosaunee Nations at nearly a dozen events across the state to rally against Governor Hochul’s ill-advised plan to drastically expand expensive, dangerous nuclear power production throughout the state. The statewide days of action were organized by advocacy organizations including Food & Water Watch, NY Renews, AGREE, NYPIRG, NIRS, and Frack Action.

Photos of each of the actions can be found here. 

On June 11, the Hochul administration released a policy plan that kicked off a formal process to approve incentives for a massive new nuclear buildout in New York. This could result in public subsidies of up to $23.9 billion to build and operate new nuclear plants. This is on top of the $40 billion we’re already paying in our bills to keep open four existing nuclear reactors.

“Nuclear is and has always been a terrible idea for New York. Yesterday hundreds of New Yorkers rallied en masse across the state to send Governor Hochul a clear message: Drop the nuclear charade. Nuclear is dirty, dangerous, costly and deeply unpopular — it has no place in our communities,” said Laura Shindell, New York state director at Food & Water Watch.

“New Yorkers are being asked to pour billions into an energy source with a long record of runaway costs and broken promises, all while families struggle to pay their utility bills,” said Andra Leimanis, Program Director at Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE). “We can build an energy system that is clean, reliable, and affordable using solutions that are ready today. This statewide series of press conferences, rallies, and teach-ins was about giving our neighbors the facts and a real way to be heard before the state locks us into decades of costs we cannot undo.”

“Utilities and state politicians have treated Central New York as a nuclear colony for too long,” said Tim Judson, Syracuse resident and Executive Director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service. “We have paid the price with radioactive pollution and high utility bills for decades, costing untold lives and jobs and piling up hundreds of tons of nuclear waste on the shore of Lake Ontario with no solution. We must reject the governor’s plan to saddle us with billions of dollars in debt payments on our energy bills and generations of danger to our health. We can power our communities with affordable, safe, and clean energy and pull the plug on Gov. Hochul’s nuclear plan.”

“New Yorkers don’t need or want expensive nuclear power plants, especially not to support the demand of energy-intensive, water-guzzling AI data centers,” said Cecilia Ellis, NYPIRG Policy and Communications Manager. “NYPIRG members are out with allies all across the state to demand Governor Hochul focus on safe, clean, affordable solutions instead of asking New Yorkers to foot the multibillion dollar bill for the build out of new dirty, dangerous nuclear.”

“Governor Hochul’s plans for new nuclear development compromise energy affordability, undermine community safety, and violate the sovereignty of Indigenous Nations,” said Ryan Madden, Indigenous Solidarity Director at NY Renews. “Over the past two days, local residents, community organizations, and representatives from several Haudenosaunee Nations stood together across nine regions of the state to send a clear message to the Governor: No new nuclear!”

Earlier this year, more than 200 national, state, local groups and representatives from six Indigenous Nations sent letters to Hochul demanding that she drop her stated plans to build five gigawatts of new nuclear power in the state.

In the letters, groups point out that the cost of building new nuclear reactors in New York is in direct opposition to the Governor’s goal of making energy more affordable – something she continues to claim is a priority and has been the justification for her recent efforts to skirt the state’s existing climate law. Meanwhile, 2 gigawatts of new capacity recently built in Georgia more than doubled in cost to $37 billion, resulting in a 23.6% increase in electricity rates for residents.

In January, Hochul’s NY Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a $33 billion, 20-year extension of subsidies for the four dangerously old upstate nuclear reactors at Lake Ontario, running through 2049. This action represents the largest single use of NY ratepayer dollars compared to any other PSC-approved energy program in history.