New Brattle Report Highlights the Critical Role of New York’s Nuclear Plants in Maintaining Affordability, Driving Growth, and Advancing Clean Energy Goals

A new analysis from The Brattle Group, commissioned by the Carbon Free NY Coalition, highlights the critical role New York’s upstate nuclear plants play in keeping energy costs stable for families and businesses, driving economic growth, and advancing clean energy goals. The report finds that the plants result in $50 billion in savings for New York ratepayers through 2050.

The report also found that continued operation of the nuclear fleet would:

• Contribute $38 billion to the state’s economy
• Support 14,400 good-paying jobs across New York (including 2,020 direct plant jobs and an average of 12,380 additional jobs annually from 2029–2049)
• Preserve $10 billion in tax revenues ($4 billion state, $6 billion federal)

The report focuses on the three nuclear plants along Lake Ontario – Nine Mile Point, James A. FitzPatrick, and R.E. Ginna – which together supply 24/7, carbon-free electricity to millions of New Yorkers. The plants provide nearly half of the state’s carbon-free electricity, making them essential to meeting New York’s clean energy and emissions reduction goals. These facilities also anchor local economies through tax revenue, charitable investment, and long-term employment.

In 2024 alone, New York’s nuclear plants avoided 16.4 million tons of CO₂ emissions, equivalent to 20% of statewide transportation emissions or taking 3.5 million gas-powered cars off the road for a year. The report supports a recent New York Department of Public Service recommendation to extend the Zero-Emissions Credit (ZEC) program. The impacts included in the report do not account for any policy support, environmental attribute payments or other mechanisms.

Without these plants, replacing their 27.5 terawatt-hours of annual emissions-free generation would require increased reliance on fossil fuels in the near term and massive new clean energy development at unprecedented rates. That shift would make meeting the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) targets far more difficult to achieve.

View the summary presentation and one-pager fact sheet on the CFNY website.