BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA --  Governor Kathy Hochul has instructed New York Power Authority officials to build a facility to produce one gigawatt of additional power to meet her state emissions goals but federal roadblocks may slow the process. 

In response, Hochul said she is appealing to President Donald Trump to fast-track the process so a nuclear facility comes online faster. 

At a recent press event, Hochul said she spoke with Trump to discuss the state's plans, noting that advances in data centers, the growth of artificial intelligence, as well as plans to bring semiconductor manufacturing to the state necessitate the facility. 

“I said, ‘I’ll look at my streamline processes and you streamline yours and let's get this done sooner,'. Find a faster way get me nuclear, too, Mr. President," Hochul said.

But some have criticized Hochul for an apparent about face regarding nuclear power amidst state plans to move in a direction that will cause "excessive demand" on an electrical grid not capable of sustaining the demand. 

NYPA has carried out the Smart Path and Smart Path Connect projects in recent years to install new power lines to transfer more power downstate. 

With the Smart Path project beginning in Massena and NYPA overseeing the project, some say Massena is a prime location for a nuclear facility. 

Town and village officials alike unanimously passed resolutions in support of exploring the possibility of bringing a facility to Massena after Mayor Greg Paquin, Deputy Mayor Chad Simpson, Town Supervisor Sue Bellor and Deputy Supervisor Pat Facteau attended Assemblyman Scott Gray's Nuclear 101 forum at the Bonnie Castle Resort earlier this summer. 

Gray brought together numerous potential stakeholders from around the North Country to learn more about the benefits of nuclear energy from professionals in the field, including a number of individuals from NYPA, Clarkson University and multiple companies that operate nuclear facilities throughout the U.S. 

Keith Shue, of Nuclear New York, spoke on the reliability and clean energy created by nuclear facilities. 

The non-partisan advocacy group has promoted nuclear energy "as a cornerstone of New York’s decarbonized, reliable power future," while supporting both the preservation of existing nuclear facilities, as well as the deployment of next-generation technologies. 

"When compared to other energy producers, nuclear is actually one of the cleanest and has one of the lowest carbon emissions," he said. 

NYPA officials also supported the initiative, voicing support for the project during a trustees meeting last month. 

NYPA President and CEO Justin Driscoll said at a recent trustees meeting that NYPA will issue solicitations this fall for community interest after a number of communities already expressed interest in playing host. 

Driscoll told NYPA trustees the solicitations will be sent to ensure everyone has an opportunity to voice support for the project. 

"We don’t want to leave anyone out in that, so we’re going to put a solicitation out, cast a pretty wide net, and see which communities are interested so that we can gather information from all around the state,” Driscoll said. 

Though some municipalities voiced support for a facility in their communities during Gray's forum, NYPA officials said the process is more complicated than that. 

For one, municipalities must submit formal letters of interest to NYPA officials to begin the process. 

Communities are also expected to educate the public and request feedback from local community members and stakeholders. 

Driscoll told NYPA trustees that Governor Hochul "said very directly that this plant will not be in any community that doesn't want it."

Nuclear power is also a concern at the federal level, with President Trump advocating for the production of multiple facilities throughout the U.S. as a measure of energy independence and national security. 

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