Clean Air Task Force Comments on NYSERDA’s Nuclear Blueprint

CATF welcomes the steps NYSERDA has taken toward informing its decisions on the climate transition and securing sustainable, reliable, and cost-effective power system solutions. Nuclear technology and other clean firm technologies will be a key part of the transition alongside solar and wind power across many jurisdictions including New York.

With the adoption of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019 (CLCPA), New York committed itself to an economy-wide 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from a 1990 baseline, an economy-wide 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, an electricity sector powered by 70% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040.

In order to reach these targets, New York will need to deploy a range of clean technologies and embrace nuclear power alongside other clean generating resources. The draft Nuclear Blueprint has laid out the technological landscape of advanced nuclear technologies. The next iteration of the document could delve deeper into a number of questions which will direct NYSERDA in informing next steps in the state’s transition.