New York State Selects Ten Companies to Compete for New Nuclear Power Projects

Recently, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) officially announced a shortlist of 10 qualified nuclear power developer candidates, marking a key step for New York State toward building its first new nuclear power plant in a generation. Since the pre-qualification process was launched in May this year, a total of 21 companies responded, and the 10 finalists cover different technology pathways including large reactors and small modular reactors (SMRs).

Among the shortlisted companies announced this time, 6 have the comprehensive capability to develop large reactors (with a unit capacity of approximately 1,000 megawatts, sufficient to meet the electricity needs of about 1 million households) or small modular reactors. These companies include power utility giant Avangrid (the parent company of New York State Electric & Gas and Rochester Gas and Electric), Elementl Power, which plans to build a 1,500-megawatt nuclear power project in Ohio, NextEra Energy, which has nuclear power operating experience, Oppenheimer Energy, founded by Charles Oppenheimer, The Nuclear Company, a startup aimed at building a 6,000-megawatt fleet using existing technology, and Turquoise Power, which focuses on siting, financing, and operation of small modular reactors.

In addition, NYPA also selected 4 specialized companies focused on small modular reactor (SMR) development. These include Blue Energy, which plans to build a hybrid natural gas and nuclear power plant in Texas, Holtec International, which is deeply engaged in 300-megawatt SMR research and development and is known for its work on decommissioned nuclear power plants, TerraPower, co-founded by Bill Gates and developing an innovative 345-megawatt reactor, and X-energy, which just received U.S. federal approval this week to advance a four-unit project in Texas.

According to NYPA's plan, the next step will be to issue formal requests for proposals to one or more of the selected companies to determine specific nuclear power project sites and construction plans, with specific project implementation plans expected to be announced in the coming months. Previously, NYPA had received construction intentions from 8 communities, including Oswego County, which already hosts three operating units of Constellation Energy.

Currently, nuclear power accounts for about one-fifth of New York State's electricity supply. To achieve deep decarbonization goals, New York Governor Kathy Hochul instructed NYPA in June 2025 to develop at least 1,000 megawatts of new nuclear capacity, and subsequently set a further goal of developing at least 5,000 megawatts of nuclear power, striving to double the state's installed nuclear capacity.