Report by Brattle Economists Finds Upstate New York’s Nuclear Power Plants Contribute Over $3 Billion to State’s GDP
A study by Brattle principals Mark Berkman and Dean Murphy finds that Upstate New York’s three nuclear energy power plants contribute approximately $3.16 billion to the state’s gross domestic product (GDP), account for nearly 25,000 full-time jobs (direct and indirect), and provide other significant economic and societal benefits.
Nuclear plants operating in Upstate New York – including Ginna Nuclear Generating Station (Wayne County), FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant (Oswego County), and Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station (Oswego County) – are responsible for:
- Keeping electricity prices low – absent Upstate nuclear plants, New York consumers would pay almost $15 billion more in electricity costs over the next ten years (nearly $1.7 billion annually);
- Contributing $144 million in net state tax revenues annually, including more than $60 million in annual state and local property taxes; and
- Avoiding almost 16 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually, equal to a societal value of almost $700 million.
The Brattle report estimates New York nuclear plants’ economic value using Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI), a widely-used dynamic input-output model of the U.S. economy, linked with a simplified Brattle model of the U.S. electricity sector to better capture the dynamics of power markets and prices. By linking these models, the authors were able to measure the economic output, employment, and tax revenue in New York with and without its nuclear plants, providing the most accurate picture of their contribution to the economy.
The report, “New York’s Upstate Nuclear Power Plants’ Contribution to the State Economy,” was prepared for the New York State IBEW Utility Labor Council, Rochester Building & Construction Trades Council, and Central and Northern New York Building & Construction Trades Council. It is available for download below.
