Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul and Ontario Premier Doug Ford Announce Landmark Agreement to Support Advanced Nuclear Technology

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a landmark agreement between the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and Ontario Power Generation (OPG). The signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishes a framework for collaboration on the development of advanced nuclear energy technologies, including large-scale nuclear and small modular reactors (SMRs), to strengthen energy reliability, affordability, and decarbonization efforts in New York and Ontario.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Thank you. Yes, this is my hometown, and I want to give a warm welcome on a cold day to our friends from Ontario who aren't bothered by cold weather, fortunately. And so, I'm delighted to be able to showcase this extraordinary venue - which we'll talk about momentarily - but for Premier Ford to come here, I'm very grateful that you and your team have made the journey here to do something that I think is landmark. It's extraordinary and very exciting as someone who's from this community and knows that we're going to find a way to continue to work together in partnership the way we always have and always will do.

I want to acknowledge Nicolle Butcher, the President and CEO of Ontario Power Generation. Thank you for lending your expertise to the cause. Minister Lecce, the Legislative Assembly from Ontario. Justin Driscoll, our CEO and President of New York Power Authority. Justin and John Koelmel, the Chairman of the New York Power Authority. All my partners in government. I see our incoming mayor is here, I think. Anybody else? And Crystal here? Crystal Peoples-Stokes - Sean Ryan and Crystal Peoples-Stokes, our many Assemblymembers and elected officials who have joined us here today.

It is great to be here to discuss our energy future, and it's especially fitting. We're here at the Buffalo AKG Museum of Art. And why I wanted to come here? Of any place in the state I could do this is what I'm reminded of - not this building, but the building that you'll see - the older looking building is from the 1901 era. And it was built in order to help showcase the fact that Buffalo was basically the epicenter of everything at the time when it came to power, because we were the first city in the world to be electrified. And so, we had electric lights. People were fascinated by this. What do you mean electric lights? How can that be? And people came from all over to see this in the entire exhibition.

So it was certainly a high point, but a reminder that we can continue energy innovation and how to do power innovation as we venture into this next century. Buffalo is known as the City of Light. And actually I'll say the museum was built for the exhibition, it wasn't done in time. So it missed the opening, but we still celebrate it associated with that as well. But this new building is a reminder of the future and a reminder that traditions matter. And there's been a long standing, proud tradition of cooperation between New York and Ontario. This has always been - this is our neighbor.

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Yeah. We've done so much together, and I'll just digress and say I'm a boater on Lake Erie. It's one of the most beautiful places in the world, and we stop at many of the ports in Colborne, Canada, Ontario, and just feel that warm embrace of a shared bond that our region brings to all of us. It's not just sports - go Blue Jays next time. You did very well this year, but also, I know you're rooting for the Buffalo Bills, and you come to hockey games and the baseball games in the summertime as well. But also our cultures, our tourism. You find me in my old life many times up at Niagara-on-the-Lake or strolling around both sides of the falls.

And so it is just - it's a world class region, and we need to continue working together to promote these incredible assets, but also the strength of our friendship and relationship, which is enduring. And I'm also reminded, we just came off of the bicentennial, the celebration of the Erie Canal - something that was an extraordinary feat of engineering and its time, but also it opened up Canada to New York City. And that connection also was one of the catalysts for explosive growth opening in the Midwest Canadian cities, ultimately the St. Lawrence Seaway that came through. So we've always been connected through waterways and energy sources as well.

And our economies are intertwined. The trade, despite some setbacks - won't go into too much detail there, but we want to make sure that our trade relationship remains trustworthy. It's a beneficial relationship, we understand that. And I'll acknowledge that there've been some terrible policies that have come out of Washington coincidentally just in the one year, and they've been hard to accept as someone who doesn't understand why there's a hostility toward Canada overall. But certainly it shakes us to our core as well as people who value our friends in Ontario and Quebec, particularly as they border our great state.

So I don't want those policies to jeopardize the goodwill, the friendship. And we just want to make sure that we continue doing things that show that collaboration. And as these threats out of Washington come, we're going to stand firm and let people know who our friends are who we also care about very deeply. So our partnership between New York and Ontario is rock solid, and as long as I'm Governor, it's going to stay that way.

And so we sat down together. It's about relationships. Premier Ford and I sat down together. It was a meeting of Northeast governors and the Canadian premiers that all bordered this region. We got together in Boston to talk about the threats out of Washington, how destabilizing that is for trade and our relationships overall, but how we can individually step up and ignore that process - those threats, that hostility - and show we truly are friends. And so we talked about economic opportunities. We also had a great conversation about power, and the Premier spoke with great pride about what is occurring in the Darlington area. We are focusing on small modular reactors, and I was very impressed, and so I wanted to learn more.

And I was intrigued with your forward thinking approach to delivering clean energy for the next generation. And so we focused on how we can stay true to our environmental commitments, which I truly believe in, but also our commitment to rate payers to keep utility costs affordable - which is not just a buzzword, it is the reality. We, as leaders, have to focus on reliability, sustainability and affordability all at the same time. So we found a way together, and that is through nuclear energy. And Ontario is already home to - is it 17 of 18 nuclear plants operating in Canada? So, ahead of your time. And Ontario Power Generation is leading the way in deploying North America's first small modular reactors, which I've been very intrigued with - very intrigued with. And the Darlington project, which you'll talk about, is going to be generating 1.2 gigawatts of power. And our conversation also led me to the understanding that OPG is collaborating with the Tennessee Valley Authority as well.

When you said that, I said, "Wait a minute? Why are you cooperating with them? I'm right here." So that was another thought - that light bulb that went off in my head. Like, why aren't we also taking advantage of your forward-thinking approach when it comes to power?

So today - to cement these conversations just from a few months ago to add some substance to them - OPG signed a memorandum of understanding with NYPA to work together to share information on the best ways to bring advanced nuclear power to the State of New York. And they'll use their expertise, and knowhow and be a great resource in our next chapter in our nuclear story. And the timing is perfect because last summer I charged NYPA - our Executive Director, and our Chairman and others - to find a way to bring advanced nuclear power to Upstate New York. And this will be the first plant in New York State in over a generation.

And I wanted to do this because it's about reliability, affordability, but it's also about the thousands of jobs that are created in the process. And I was excited about that prospect as well. And one gigawatt of nuclear power can power roughly one million homes without adding any carbon to the atmosphere. That's really significant. And it's around the clock. It's every day of the year. It's completely insulated from the threats of rising oil and gas prices.

I believe it can power the industries of tomorrow as we're leaning into, especially here in Upstate New York, Micron - $100 billion investment to make semiconductor chips. The largest private sector investment in American history is going on just down the road in Syracuse. Right up the road in Buffalo, the University of Buffalo, we have $500 million being invested in Empire AI - artificial intelligence for public good. So we need the power source. We want to do all this. Our ambitions are broad, they're exciting, but if we don't power it, it doesn't work. And that's the challenge that we've embraced and we're moving with great speed.

I'm very impatient and I want this to happen. I know there's traditionally been hurdles. Our state has right now three nuclear plants operating. They're all up on Lake Ontario. And one is actually the oldest operating nuclear facility in the United States - going strong and safe since 1969. But it's time for us to bring new nuclear technology into the 21st century. I've spoken, actually, to President Trump about this in the White House and talked about the fact that people aren't embracing nuclear because there's a perception it is a long, arduous process, even a decade to get approvals. And we gleaned that over seven of the 10 years it takes to get nuclear approvals are at the federal level. So he has agreed to find ways to approach that with more urgency.

We are working closely with the federal administration in this particular area, and I want to make sure that everyone knows that we'll bring down the barriers and the costs. That's important. But also, this is not your grandmother's and your grandfather's nuclear. This is advanced. This is state of the art. This is safe. This is safe. And it has automatic safety systems, enhanced containment and rigorous, very rigorous, environmental safeguards.

So since the last six months when I directed NYPA to build a gigawatt of new nuclear capacity, we've moved aggressively to realize that vision. The deadline for request for information passed just last week, and I'm happy to announce that there are 23 developers who've expressed an interest in developing nuclear projects with NYPA. That's extraordinary. That's beyond what I could have imagined. That's a new era for nuclear power in the State of New York. And eight communities have expressed interest in hosting a plant, Also a very positive development. So what we want to do is make sure we also have the workforce to be able to do all this exciting work. And I've announced $40 million over the next four years in new funding for NYPA to launch a specialized nuclear workforce training program with our unions and our universities. So that's how we'll meet the demand by focusing now on the training required so we have the workforce in place.

And we've made some strategic hires at NYPA. Christopher Hanson, the former Chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission was hired as a senior consultant to help us navigate that federal licensing. And I'm sorry I took Todd Josifovski, hired as our Senior Vice President of Nuclear Development, formerly the Project Director at Darlington - which you're already underway, so we need some help. Okay? You're good with that?

So he'll make sure that - just as is happening at Darlington, which he'll talk about, is that the constructional process, very quickly. So the first phase that is being licensed this year will be on track and operational. Our goal is to be within five years, not 10, but five years.

And so, we've been excited about this and bringing a closer relationship. And in a couple minutes, Premier Ford and I will sign a Declaration of Intent to reaffirm and strengthen our historic bonds. We'll show the world that we have no tolerance for policies that are intended to drive us apart. We look forward to working together through this particular opportunity and many, many more as we focus on the sharing of opportunities, and resources, and intellect and expertise that'll help bolster both of our economies, and keep us strong and to keep the lights on.

Contact the Governor's Press Office