N.Y. bets big on aging nuclear plants

The Boston Globe: OSWEGO, N.Y. — When the Nine Mile Point reactor first went online, Richard Nixon was president, the Beatles were still a band, and Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima weren’t yet bywords for the hazards of nuclear power.

Almost 50 years later, New York state is betting big on the future of Nine Mile Point, one of the nation’s two oldest nuclear plants.

The state is putting up $7.6 billion in subsidies to ensure that the plant and two other upstate nuclear plants stay open, part of New York’s strategy to lean on nuclear energy as it ramps up renewable sources such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric.

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