Restarting a New York Nuclear Plant Looks Unlikely. The Action Is in New Jersey.

The Indian Point nuclear plant, seen from across the Hudson River in Tomkins Cove, New York. (Kena Betancur/Getty Images)

Key Points

About This Summary

• Holtec says the Indian Point nuclear plant could restart in four years for $8 to $10 billion with government support.
• The Trump administration inquired about restarting Indian Point, but Holtec is focused on new reactors in New Jersey.
• New York state officials say there are no plans to reopen Indian Point, which shut down in 2021 amid safety concerns.

A nuclear plant near New York City that shut down in 2021 could theoretically be turned back on with enough government subsidies and community support, according to Holtec, the company that owns the site and has been decommissioning the reactors.

The Trump administration has inquired about the possibility of restarting the Indian Point plant, according to Patrick O’Brien, Holtec’s director of government affairs and communications. The company believes that Indian Point could technically return to service in around four years at a cost of $8 to 10 billion, as long as a decision was made to do so within the next year or two. After that, the decommissioning process will likely be too far along to reverse.

A restart isn’t likely, however. The company is more likely to focus on installing small reactors at a site in New Jersey.

Asked about Indian Point, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers didn’t comment on the plant itself, but wrote that “President Trump is prioritizing and investing in the development of the nuclear energy industry which produces a safe and reliable energy source to boost grid stability and address AI energy usage.”

The idea of bringing a nuclear reactor back to life isn’t new. Companies have reason to do so because nuclear power is in high demand as artificial-intelligence data centers use more electricity.

Holtec is in the process of restarting another nuclear plant in Michigan, called Palisades. Constellation Energy is restarting a reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania.

The news that Indian Point could potentially be restarted was earlier reported by Politico. O’Brien, however, says that restarting it is a “long shot” and a “heavy lift” that would entail local residents and the state getting on board.

“We aren’t pushing this—only answering once and for all the most asked question I’ve had from elected officials/business leaders/media since we undertook” the Michigan plant restart, he wrote in an email. Indian Point was closed after years of public opposition over safety concerns and other issues, and locals would have to get on board with any decision to resume operations.

“With the terms of the Joint Proposal we signed at shutdown it would be the State/County/Town and Village would have to agree that nuclear goes back on the site, and we have no indication of that now,” O’Brien wrote.

New York state has shown little interest in bringing Indian Point back. “There have been no discussions or plans to re-open Indian Point. We are focused on seeing this facility safely de-commissioned,” wrote Ken Lovett, senior communications advisor on energy and environment for Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Indian Point is in Westchester County, around 30 miles from New York City. Hochul has been supportive of building new nuclear reactors in the state, but will almost certainly locate them farther away from the city.

While Holtec is unlikely to restart Indian Point, it is looking much more seriously at putting new nuclear reactors at a former nuclear plant in New Jersey. Holtec CEO Krishna Singh told the New Jersey state legislature last month that the company could put multiple small reactors at the Oyster Creek plant on the Atlantic coast, which shut down in 2019. Holtec is nearly finished decommissioning that plant, but is considering building four small modular reactors there once the site is ready, Singh said.

New Jersey politicians, who have struggled to add renewable-energy capacity, have made public statements recently endorsing new nuclear power.

Holtec isn’t planning to start building the New Jersey reactors for at least five years, “short of the state or somebody walking up with a giant bag of cash,” O’Brien said. The company is focused on restarting the Michigan reactor and adding additional small reactors on that site. But it could get the new Oyster Creek reactors in place by the mid-2030s, with the right financial support.

Write to Avi Salzman at avi.salzman@barrons.com