The town of Oswego, New York, has three nuclear power plants within 10 miles — and it wants another one. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced a commitment to add a gigawatt of nuclear power to the New York state grid, partially to meet the electricity demands of the booming AI industry. And Oswego is vying to be chosen as a site for this new power plant.
Video
This town has 3 nuclear plants. Now, it wants another one.
The US has had a bad track record of building nuclear on time and on budget. But that could change.
Nate Krieger is a video producer at Vox.
To find out more about why Oswego is so eager for nuclear — and what would happen next if it’s chosen — Vox video producer Nate Krieger traveled there to meet with the mayor of Oswego and see the nuclear power plants up close.
There are a lot of benefits to adding more nuclear energy to the grid. The average US nuclear power station can provide enough electricity to support 1.4 million homes. Nuclear power operates 24/7 and doesn’t generate carbon emissions or traditional air pollution. Plus, these plants create hundreds of jobs.
But disasters like Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima Daiichi loom large in the public imagination. Many people don’t want nuclear power in their backyard, understandably wary of possible disasters and the issue of nuclear waste. Nuclear power plants in the US store their waste in dry casks, which is a relatively safe method but is not designed to be permanent. And other opponents of building a new nuclear plant upstate cite issues of cost and the length of the construction project.
Even if Oswego is chosen to be the site of the next nuclear power plant in New York state, it would likely take over a decade before it gets to reap those rewards. The United States has not had a great track record of building nuclear on time and on budget. The most recent power plant built in the US was Vogtle, Georgia, which was years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.
This video looks into the country’s history with nuclear power, trying to figure out why the US fell so far behind and what building clean and efficient power could look like in the future, especially for the town of Oswego.
Further reading
- Read more of Umair Irfan’s reporting on small modular reactors.
- For general information about nuclear power in the US, the Nuclear Energy Institute is a great resource.
- For more information about nuclear and energy in New York state specifically, check out the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and Nuclear New York.
- And World Nuclear has profiles for every country with nuclear power.
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