ALBANY — New York could build its first nuclear power plant in decades, under a plan unveiled Monday by Gov. Kathy Hochul, who said the state needs it to help move it away from reliance on fossil fuels such as oil.

If built, the upstate plant would represent a turnabout on nuclear energy in a state where Hochul’s predecessor, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, had shuttered the Indian Point nuclear plant in Westchester County in 2021.

It also could spark tension between a Democratic governor and some environmental groups which have supported her on wind and solar power expansions but have shunned nuclear.

Hochul said the proposed power plant would produce at least 1 gigawatt of energy or enough to supply more than 1 million homes. The Democrat said nuclear power would help New York meet its clean energy goals, which she has long supported, and offer supply when wind power is running into federal opposition from the Trump administration.

"So, to power New York's future, we need three things: reliability, affordability and sustainability. And nuclear drives all three," Hochul said at a news conference at a New York Power Authority site in Niagara County. 

She also said that public safety would be at the "forefront" of a new plant and that the industry has changed from decades ago.

"This is not your grandparents' nuclear reactor. You're not going to see this in a movie starring Jane Fonda," Hochul said, referring to 1979’s China Syndrome, a film about a nuclear plant meltdown.

The governor directed NYPA to develop a plan to site and construct a plan, though no one locale is in mind.

One possibility is the existing Nine Mile Point along Lake Ontario in Oswego County, host of the state’s three existing nuclear plants which supply about 20% of New York's electricity. In January, Hochul said she supported the operator there, Constellation Energy, in its application for federal funding to possibly add one or more small reactors.

An array of tech companies, energy agencies and private groups, business groups and unions voiced support for the initiative.

"As demand for semiconductor manufacturing continues to grow, so does the need for reliable, affordable and clean energy in Upstate New York," said Thomas Caulfield, chairman of GlobalFoundries, a semiconductor maker with upstate facilities.

But some green groups blasted the idea, saying nuclear power was "fiscally irresponsible" because it relies on government subsidies and carries "enormous liability risks."

"Nuclear is an expensive, false climate solution that has major environmental problems, including the processing and disposal of its uranium fuel," said Mark Dunlea, chair of the Green Education and Legal Fund.