Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials have a positive outlook on Oswego County facilities.
NRC Chair Christopher Hanson visited Oswego’s Nine Mile Point and James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plants this week to discuss plans for the future and tour site facilities. Hanson’s visit included discussions with site leadership and union workers as well as a demonstration of Nine Mile Point’s Hydrogen Generation System.
Hanson said he typically pays attention to a site’s material conditions, labor relationships and leadership viewpoints and was impressed by both sites.
“I came away impressed, really, with the overall condition and operation of the plant,” Hanson said. “They are at the highest performance level that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has.”
Hanson said the future of nuclear power is strong in Oswego County.
“It’s often said in the industry and by the NRC that the future of nuclear power really relies on the safety operation of facilities today and I am pleased to say, based on my conversations with our NRC resident inspector and others, as well as plant leadership, that both of these facilities are operating safely today,” Hanson said.
Hanson said the work being done at Nine Mile Point is different than it would have been a decade ago — and viewpoints on nuclear power are changing.
“The world has shifted,” Hanson said. “There’s a lot of focus on nuclear now for meeting clean energy goals, for energy security and this kind of stuff that maybe didn’t exist five or six years ago.”
He said as nuclear power continues to develop, both the NRC and Constellation Energy, the company who operates the Oswego sites, are committed to developing a workforce to go with it.
“Certainly I spend time visiting universities, I heard a lot from Constellation leadership today that they are reaching out to students at SUNY Oswego and other area colleges to develop and bring in that talent and build the workforce of the future,” Hanson said.
