SCHUYLER COUNTY, N.Y. (WENY) — An area county could play a role in New York State's plan to build more nuclear energy facilities.

New York announced plans to develop at least one gigawatt of advanced nuclear capacity somewhere upstate in the summer of 2025. According to the New York Power Authority, Schuyler County submitted information indicating it is interested in potentially hosting a state nuclear project.

Read more about it here.

What do you think, should a nuclear energy plant be located in Schuyler County? Would you be comfortable with that?

57 minutes ago, Elmira Telegram said:

What do you think, should a nuclear energy plant be located in Schuyler County? Would you be comfortable with that?

I couldn't give a straight "yea or nay" opinion without more complete information.

Nuclear power itself doesn't make me uncomfortable. By and large, it's an efficient and clean source of energy....when it's produced in a safe and responsible manner.

But....how it's handled/regulated by state and federal agencies makes a huge difference. Currently, NYS allows overseas investors to own and operate existing energy companies with virtually free rein and a disregard for NYS consumers and residents. This raises concerns for me....as huge foreign conglomerates have little or no motivation to ensure safe, responsible practices.

So, if someone like Avangrid wants to make plans to build a nuclear plant in my backyard? That would be a "Hell No!!".

Edited January 9Jan 9 by MsKreed

49 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

I couldn't give a straight "yea or nay" opinion without more complete information.

Yeah it's hard to draw a line in the sand without knowing more. My inclination leans towards "no" because I want to see Seneca Lake stay as pristine as possible, which includess not having one of those big towers in the skyline.

And any foreign entity running it? That's a non starter for me.

2 hours ago, Chris said:

Yeah it's hard to draw a line in the sand without knowing more. My inclination leans towards "no" because I want to see Seneca Lake stay as pristine as possible, which includess not having one of those big towers in the skyline.

And any foreign entity running it? That's a non starter for me.

I absolutely agree.

I will definitely need to know more. They are already building out those data mining centers up there (which the environmental groups could not get stopped) so using more lake water could be problematic.

I've been doing a little looking around on the subject and did find that the new facilities being built that are much smaller (which is how this is being presented) can operate on their own internal cooling systems and not have to uses gazillions of gallons of water. They don't have those gigantic nuclear reactors that we all automatically think of. Less radiation too.

I'm far from a research expert, particularly on something as complicated as this, but do want to have my own basic knowledge before I start listening to what all the armchair experts have to say out there (depending on which political party they belong to).

What is annoying though are the folks are commenting on a similar question as this on social media and the answer was just NO. When one lady was asked to expand on her why or why not her response was "I don't have to engage with you" (wasn't talking to me). He then tried to just find our her why and he comments were more of the same. "Will not engage" "Don't have to answer to you" "I don't have to listen to any of your arguments". He was incredibly respectful and offering good things to think about. Why TF did she even comment?

Well....I guess there's been a few more details.

WENY News looked into who submitted the RFI from the county. Schuyler County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) minutes show discussion of the former Camp Monterey site as a location for an “advanced energy site.” The minutes state that the Schuyler County Partnership for Economic Development (SCOPED) submitted the RFI to NYPA for the former Camp Monterey site.

However, the minutes from the IDA’s December meeting said that the site is not suitable for a large reactor. But, it said the site could be on the state’s radar for a smaller reactor or a deep-source-earth or geothermal site.

Judy McKinney Cherry, the executive director of SCOPED and the CEO and CFO of the Schuyler County IDA, claims that putting in any-sized nuclear reactor was never the goal. She said her organizations are actually looking to put in a manufacturing facility, or some other type of energy facility, at the former Camp Monterey site.

Source

But apparently the locals are concerned it could still happen and held a Public Forum last week where Advocates spoke out Thursday against a proposal to build a nuclear power plant in the Finger Lakes region.