New York is planning to build the nation’s first new major nuclear power plant in more than 15 years, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday.

The “zero-admission advanced” plant in an upstate New York location still to be determined would generate 1 gigawatt of electricity — enough to juice up to 1 million homes, Hochul said.

“If we don’t increase New York’s electricity supply in a major way, we’re going to risk losing our opportunities,” Hochul told a crowd outside the Niagara Power Project, a generating facility downstream from Niagara Falls. “They can go elsewhere, but we want them here.”

The announcement represents a major shift in nuclear power in the Empire State — just four years after then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo closed Indian Point nuclear plant in upper Westchester County.

Hochul slammed the closure of Indian Point — which generated about a quarter of New York City and Westchester’s power — as short-sighted.

“Let’s be honest. In doing that, we turned off one quarter of New York City’s power and it was almost all clean energy,” Hochul said.

“Overnight, without an alternative, we’ve had to burn more fuel. More fossil fuels have been burned. Greenhouse emissions are up in downstate New York because of that,” she added.

Hochul has been signaling for months that she is embracing nuclear, as the state struggles to keep up with demand while reaching its target dates to go green.

Some 70% of energy produced in New York is supposed to come from renewable sources by 2030, according to the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act signed six years ago. The energy sector must achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, according to the law.

“Some people say you can’t clean the grid and grow it at the same time. Sounds like defeatism to me. This is New York. That’s not how we think. We don’t back down from the hard problems. We solve them and we build bigger and bolder than anyone could have imagined,” Hochul said.

Hochul admitted last summer that the state won’t be able to meet those goals on time.

“We’re going to get to our goals, but if we miss it by a couple of years, which is probably what will happen, the goals are still worthy,” she said last July.

On Monday, she warned rolling blackouts are a possibility if the state doesn’t further ramp up generating capacity as fossil fuel generators are taken offline.

“If we don’t increase our capacity over the next decade, we will see rolling blackouts and other disruptions,” Hochul said, noting she has directed the New York Power Authority to develop plans for the new nuclear plant.

NYPA will be responsible for finding the site for the new nuclear facility and developing its design, including whether the project involves a partnership with the private sector.

Viable locations will be assessed on a range of factors – including public safety, compatibility with existing infrastructure and land availability, according to Hochul.

It’s unclear how the project will be financed, though Hochul promised that there will be “no cost escalation” for ratepayers.

John Howard, former chairman of the state Public Service Commission, who was previously an employee at NYPA said the announcement showed the state’s current energy policy “is not working.”

“It’s a de facto admission that the original clean energy plan — to the extent we had one — is unworkable.”

Howard estimated the construction could take a decade and be very costly – though Hochul promised there would be no “cost escalation” for ratepayers.

Gavin Donohue, president & CEO of Independent Power Producers of New York, applauded the governor’s push for nuclear energy and said “other states are doing it.”

But he cautioned the state couldn’t do the project on its own.

“It’s going to be an expensive project. It’s going to need private investment and federal dollars,” he told

Hochul’s nuclear promise was met with support, including from some Republicans who have been highly critical of the governor’s energy policy to-date.

“The governor has finally acknowledged the reality Senate Republicans have been stating plainly for years: there is no economically-viable, clean-energy future without a serious investment in nuclear power generation,” state Sen. Jake Ashby (R-Washington) wrote in a statement.

Some Democrats like state Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) and left-leaning environmental groups like Food and Water Watch were quick to express skepticism of Hochul’s announcement.

“Governor Hochul’s nuclear gamble is a reckless distraction from the clean, affordable energy New Yorkers actually need,” Alex Beauchamp, Northern Region Director at Food & Water Watch wrote in a statement.

“Nuclear power is dirty, dangerous, and wildly expensive — and this project will leave New Yorkers footing the bill while delaying urgently needed progress on renewables. Hochul needs to stop chasing false solutions and start delivering real climate action,” Beauchamp continued.