S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  1927--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 14, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. O'MARA, BORRELLO, GALLIVAN, GRIFFO, MURRAY, PALUMBO,
   STEC,  WALCZYK  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to
   be committed to the Committee  on  Energy  and  Telecommunications  --
   committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
   recommitted to said committee
 AN ACT to establish the commission on reopening the Indian Point  energy
   center; to amend the energy law, the general municipal law, the public
   authorities  law,  and  the  public  service law, in relation to defi-
   nitions of certain terms relating to renewable energy; to repeal para-
   graph (a) of subdivision 4 of section 162 of the public  service  law,
   relating to electric generating facilities; and directing the New York
   state energy research and development authority to conduct a feasibil-
   ity study on nuclear small modular reactors
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Commission on reopening the Indian Point energy center.  1.
 There is hereby established the commission on reopening the Indian Point
 energy  center  to  evaluate  the  cost, feasibility, and impact on grid
 capacity of reopening the Indian Point energy center.
   2. The commission shall consist of thirteen members as follows:
   a. the chair of the public service commission, or such chair's  desig-
 nee;
   b.  one  member, with subject matter expertise in nuclear power, to be
 appointed by the governor;
   c. one member to be appointed by the speaker of the assembly;
   d. one member to be appointed by the minority leader of the assembly;
   e. one member to be  appointed  by  the  temporary  president  of  the
 senate;
   f. one member to be appointed by the minority leader of the senate;
   g. the chair of the senate energy and telecommunications committee;
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04907-02-5
 S. 1927--A                          2
              
             
                          
                 
   h.  the  ranking minority member of the senate energy and telecommuni-
 cations committee;
   i. the chair of the assembly energy committee;
   j. the ranking minority member of the assembly energy committee;
   k.  one  member  to be appointed by the chief executive officer of the
 New York independent system operator;
   l. one member to be appointed by the largest trade association repres-
 enting electrical workers; and
   m. one member to be appointed by the largest nuclear power plant oper-
 ator in New York.
   3. The chief executive officer of  the  New  York  independent  system
 operator,  or  such  chief executive officer's designee, shall be desig-
 nated as the chairperson of the commission. The members of  the  commis-
 sion  shall  serve  without  compensation,  except that members shall be
 allowed their necessary and actual expenses incurred in the  performance
 of their duties under this act.
   4.  The commission shall be authorized to hold public hearings, and to
 consult with any organization, educational institution, or other govern-
 ment entity or person, to enable  it  to  accomplish  its  duties.  Such
 commission  shall  hold at least one public hearing in the state for the
 purpose of soliciting public comment on reopening the Indian Point ener-
 gy center.
   5. To effectuate the purposes of this act, the commission may  request
 and  shall receive from any department, division, board, bureau, commis-
 sion, or other agency of the state or any state  public  authority  such
 assistance, information, and data as will enable the commission to prop-
 erly carry out its powers and duties hereunder.
   6. The commission shall issue a report within one year of its findings
 and  legislative  recommendations  to  the  governor, the speaker of the
 assembly, the minority leader of the assembly, the  temporary  president
 of the senate, and the minority leader of the senate.
   §  2. Subdivision 12 of section 1-103 of the energy law, as renumbered
 by chapter 820 of the laws of 1976, is amended to read as follows:
   12. "Renewable energy resources" shall include sources which are capa-
 ble of being continuously restored by natural or other means or  are  so
 large  as  to be useable for centuries without significant depletion and
 include but are not limited to solar, wind, plant and  forest  products,
 wastes, tidal, hydro, geothermal, deuterium, NUCLEAR POWER TECHNOLOGIES,
 INCLUDING  BUT  NOT LIMITED TO SMALL MODULAR REACTORS, RENEWABLE NATURAL
 GAS, BIO-FUELS and hydrogen.
   § 3. Subdivision 7 of section 119-ff of the general municipal law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  184  of  the  laws  of 2020, is amended to read as
 follows:
   7. "Renewable energy system" means an energy generating system for the
 generation of electric or thermal energy, to be used primarily  at  such
 property, except when the owner of real property is a commercial entity,
 by means of, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO solar thermal, solar photovol-
 taic,  wind,  geothermal, anaerobic digester gas-to-electricity systems,
 fuel cell technologies, NUCLEAR POWER TECHNOLOGIES,  INCLUDING  BUT  NOT
 LIMITED  TO SMALL MODULAR REACTORS, RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS, BIO-FUELS, or
 other renewable energy technology approved by the authority not  includ-
 ing the combustion or pyrolysis of solid waste.
   §  4. Subdivision 10 of section 1851 of the public authorities law, as
 added by chapter 864 of the laws of 1975, is amended to read as follows:
   10. "New energy technologies" shall mean all methods used to  produce,
 distribute,  conserve  and store energy by methods not in common commer-
 S. 1927--A                          3
 
 cial use, with emphasis on renewable energy sources  including  but  not
 limited  to  solar,  wind,  bioconversion,  NUCLEAR  POWER TECHNOLOGIES,
 INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED  TO  SMALL  MODULAR  REACTORS,  HYDROELECTRIC,
 RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS, BIO-FUELS, and solid waste.
   §  5.  Paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision 1 of section 66-p of the public
 service law, as amended by section 3 of part QQ of  chapter  56  of  the
 laws  of  2023,  is  amended and a new paragraph (g) is added to read as
 follows:
   (b) "renewable energy systems" means systems that generate electricity
 or thermal energy through use of the following  technologies,  INCLUDING
 BUT  NOT  LIMITED TO: solar thermal, photovoltaics, on land and offshore
 wind, hydroelectric, geothermal electric, geothermal ground source heat,
 tidal energy, wave energy, ocean thermal, NUCLEAR POWER,  INCLUDING  BUT
 NOT LIMITED TO SMALL MODULAR REACTORS, RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS, BIO-FUELS,
 and  fuel cells which do not utilize a fossil fuel resource in the proc-
 ess of generating electricity.
   (G) "ZERO EMISSIONS SOURCES" SHALL INCLUDE, BUT  NOT  BE  LIMITED  TO,
 SOLAR  THERMAL, PHOTOVOLTAICS, ON LAND AND OFFSHORE WIND, HYDROELECTRIC,
 GEOTHERMAL ELECTRIC, GEOTHERMAL GROUND SOURCE HEAT, TIDAL  ENERGY,  WAVE
 ENERGY,  OCEAN  THERMAL,  NUCLEAR  POWER TECHNOLOGIES INCLUDING, BUT NOT
 LIMITED TO, SMALL  MODULAR  REACTORS,  HYDROGEN,  SEWAGE  THERMAL  HEAT,
 RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS, AND BIOFUELS.
   §  6.  Paragraph  (a)  of  subdivision  4 of section 162 of the public
 service law is REPEALED.
   § 7. Feasibility study on nuclear small modular reactors. 1.  The  New
 York  state  energy  research  and development authority, in conjunction
 with the department  of  environmental  conservation,  shall  conduct  a
 feasibility  study  and prepare a report on the benefits and implementa-
 tion of nuclear small modular reactors (SMRs). Such study shall  analyze
 the potential impacts and costs of SMRs.
   2.  Within  one  year  of the effective date of this act, the New York
 state energy research and development authority shall issue a report  of
 the  findings  of  the feasibility study to the governor, the speaker of
 the assembly, the minority leader of the assembly, the temporary  presi-
 dent of the senate, and the minority leader of the senate.
   § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.