New York to Decide on $500 Million-a-Year Nuclear Power Lifeline
- Upstate eactors may close if state bailout plan fails
- Critics say subsidies will undermine clean energy goals
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New York is poised to decide whether customers should spend about $500 million a year to save its money-losing nuclear reactors.
If New York approves the subsidies Monday, it would be the first state to throw such a lifeline to nuclear plants and the emission-free power they produce. The proposal is part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s initiative to get half the state’s power from renewable sources by 2030. It’s a far cry from the approach in other states where reactors are being allowed to fail under their own weight.