On October 30, 2025, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) issued two Requests for Information (RFIs) to gauge interest and gain information from (i) communities interested in hosting an advanced nuclear project and (ii) developers with experience in constructing, operating, or servicing nuclear projects. The submission period for the community RFI closed on Thursday, December 11th. For more details about that RFI, see our earlier article here.
Prior to the community RFI closing, NYPA responded to several questions submitted by interested persons. NYPA’s answers provide insight into the site requirements, economic impact, and legal constraints the State may be anticipating as it moves forward with siting the first nuclear reactors in the state since 1974.
Site Considerations:
- NYPA confirmed that projects are expected to require 400-700 gallons of water per megawatt-hour of electricity produced and specified that sites near stable, abundant water sources such as lakes and rivers are preferred. This indicates that feasible sites will likely be along the shores of Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, the Finger Lakes, and perhaps large rivers, which substantially limits the areas in Upstate New York open for serious consideration.
- NYPA also clarified that it is considering technologies that may require only 100 acres for operation as opposed to the 800-900 acre sites required for existing reactors. While this may open several sites as potential candidates, the majority of such sites are likely to be in rural areas.
- Finally, NYPA confirmed that it will likely consider multiple locations, but final selection will be dependent on technologies selected.
Economic Considerations:
- NYPA confirmed that projects will not qualify for NYSERDA “renewables” incentives. Importantly, however, it did not clarify whether NYPA ownership or participation of a project would exempt a project from property taxes.
- While details were not provided, NYPA confirmed that it intends to work with selected communities to ensure economic benefits are provided to residents. It is worth noting that, earlier this week, NYPA also approved a $40 million investment in nuclear energy and AI workforce development over the next four years.
Legal Considerations:
- NYPA confirmed that, under current law, permitting of selected sites would be governed by Article 10 of the Public Service Law; however, it left unanswered how local land use and zoning laws will be incorporated, if at all.
- NYPA confirmed that project ownership structures, which may be a key consideration for municipalities and communities interested in accessing project power and revenue, are still being considered.
- Finally, NYPA clarified that only responses from municipalities, counties, economic development regions, designated energy communities, and economic development or other community-based organizations would be considered as it plans next steps.
Next Steps:
Once NYPA reviews the responses to the RFIs, the next step will likely be for NYPA to select technologies that can be successfully married with communities that submitted responses to the RFI and then publish a more formal RFP resulting in final selection of communities to host this next generation of nuclear reactors. While NYPA provided valuable information through the RFI process, it left unanswered a number of questions that will be determinative of community benefit. Additional details regarding community benefits will hopefully be laid out in a future RFP, and communities should consider the conditions they may find important to their participation when responding or deciding to respond at that time.
The relevant materials for the community RFI titled “Community to host NYPA’s Advanced Nuclear Power Project” (Q25-7715JC) can be found here. In order to ensure that projects will qualify for the Trump administration’s federal nuclear investment tax credit, NYPA intends to begin construction on these projects prior to 2033.