BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

ALEXANDRIA BAY -- Could nuclear power be coming to Massena? It's a possibility that state officials are exploring right now. 

News broke two weeks ago that Governor Kathy Hochul wants the state to explore a nuclear power plant to create 1 gigawatt of clean energy. During an address, she noted the state has fallen behind its green energy goals with solar and wind farms not meeting the threshold desired. 

With increasing electric rates and excess demand on the grid, the state is searching for alternatives to produce as much clean energy as possible. 

Assemblyman Scott Gray hosted a Nuclear 101 forum at the Bonnie Castle Resort on June 8, to help educate the public and elected officials about the benefits of nuclear power. 

"Make no mistake, we are taking the first steps into a new world. This is a once in a generation opportunity that we are staring at right now," Gray told the more than 120 attendees. 

Those in attendance included St. Lawrence County legislators David Forsythe, Joseph Lightfoot and Jim Reagen, along with Village of Massena Mayor Greg Paquin, Deputy Mayor Chad Simpson and Town Supervisor Sue Bellor. 

Clean Energy for the North Country 

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. 

Shue also detailed the amount of nuclear waste from plants, dispelling rumors of excessive waste. 

"The amount of material we're talking about is roughly the size of a gummy bear, if that even. So, when people talk about the amount of waste, just know that all of the nuclear plants in the U.S. have created enough waste to fill one single WalMart, essentially. Meanwhile, facilities using other fuel types do that every day," Shue said. 

He commented that Nuclear New York has continued to advocate for new plants to be built and brought online to meet the demand of power in New York, while also offsetting carbon emissions. 

"Moving to nuclear power is one of the best ways to have green energy in New York," he said. 

Gaining federal support 

Michelle Miller, who works for Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) also spoke at the forum, discussing the needs of private sector employers and what potential impacts a facility could have on a local community. 

GAIN, a U.S. Department of Energy initiative, connects "private-sector developers with technical, regulatory, and financial support to accelerate commercial deployment of advanced nuclear reactors." 

Miller said her extensive work at nuclear facilities in Illinois have given her a great understanding of what it takes to bring facilities online in New York. 

Though specific numbers were not discussed related to employment, Miller said nuclear jobs are lucrative with an average salary of $33 per hour. 

"These are all high paying, middle-class jobs that are created," she said. 

When it comes to federal regulation, Miller said the government issues permits for such facilities through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), an agency that oversees all aspects of nuclear energy. 

She said in her current role she works closely with the NRC and helps facility such projects throughout the U.S. 

Links to Clarkson 

Professors Thomas Ortmeyer and Leo Jiang of Clarkson University spoke on the needs to modernize the power grid in New York, efforts both have extensively researched in recent years. 

Ortmeyer, who first began his tenure at Clarkson in 1979, said it is crucial New York makes the necessary upgrades to effectively deliver power now or risk widespread issues in the future. 

He said the grid currently has seen an uptick in the base load utilized, with spikes occurring that push the grid to the breaking point. 

Jiang also touched on power usage, noting new transmission lines like the Smart Path and Smart Path Connect projects, will enable transmission of power more easily but more work needs to be done. 

Those two projects combined will account for nearly 200 miles of new transmission lines, with a total cost of most than $1.1 billion combined. 

Gray said universities like Clarkson can play a key role in developing a path to the North Country if facilities are developed downstate instead of Massena. 

"With Micron in Syracuse, with Fort Drum and with the Power Authority in Massena, Clarkson University is in the center of that direct path to play a key role in the future as we develop a semiconductor super highway," Gray said. 

NYPA keen on project 

Andrew Boulais, Senior Vice President and Regional Manger of NYPA, said the Power Authority is keen to bring the project online as part of larger plans to expand and diversify the power grid in New York. 

A Clarkson University graduate. Boulais said he was well aware of the capabilities of the North Country. 

He praised the workers that could bring the project to life and said the resources available to bring a nuclear facility online. 

Though many have speculated Oswego, Fort Drum and Massena are the three locations in the running, Boulais said no decisions have been made at this time. 

"We aren't ruling anything out. We're still in the very early stages and more than anything want to gauge the interest of potential host communities before we start moving into the planning stages," he said. 

Officials from the towns of Champion and Le Ray both said their communities would welcome the development when given the opportunity to speak during a Q&A session. 

Local labor at the forefront 

Wherever the project is located, IBEW union members will be at the forefront, Gray said. 

Travis Flint, Business Manager of IBEW Local 910, said electricians will play a critical role in the project. 

Though he said there was no preference, Flint said the project would "be a great chance for our workers to be close to home on a great project." 

He said it was crucial to ensure the flow of workers to the job, though admitted it has been difficult to recruit in recent years. 

Flint said skilled trades are recruiting heavily and opportunities exist for others to get involved. 

"It's hard work. You start as an apprentice and go to school at the same time, so it takes time and many hours," he said. 

Flint said he started working directly out of high school and learned on the job through IBEW's apprenticeship program, something others could do leading up to the nuclear plant construction. 

Greg Lancette, President, NYS Pipe Trades and Central New York Building & Construction Trades Council, said much the same, commenting that local skilled labor will be given priority on the project. 

"We have a system in place that ensures our local trade workers get first priority on jobs like this. It ensures that we keep the dollars local and our local trade workers in all unions are given priority," he said. 

In total, 14 different trades were represented at the forum, he said. 

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