Key takeaways
- Why Indian Point nuclear power plant closed: It was too old and too expensive to run profitably, so the owner chose to close it rather than invest in necessary upgrades.
- Environmental impacts: Indian Point’s cooling system pulled over 2.4 billion gallons from the Hudson River daily, killing more than a billion fish every year, and the plant repeatedly leaked radioactive water from spent fuel pools into the soil, groundwater, and the Hudson River.
- Indian Point can't legally reopen without state support: Despite a recent restart proposal, New York’s governor firmly opposes reopening, and the project would cost more than $10 billion — making it very unlikely to happen.
- Why electricity costs are rising: The real causes include growing demand from AI, unstable fossil fuel prices, and blocked clean energy projects.
- Riverkeeper's watchdog role: Riverkeeper sits on the official oversight board for the plant's cleanup, pushing for safe handling of radioactive waste, cleanup of the contaminated site and groundwater, and responsible handling of public funds.
Why did Indian Point nuclear power plant close?
Entergy, the company that owned Indian Point, decided that the outdated plant was no longer able to compete on the energy market. Rather than invest in upgrades at Indian Point to modernize and keep running it, the company made a business choice to close the plant.
When it announced the closure, Entergy said “low current and projected wholesale energy prices that reduced revenues” were a driving factor for the shutdown. In short, Indian Point wasn’t profitable enough.
When did Indian Point close?
Riverkeeper, New York State, and Entergy reached an agreement in 2017 to close the facility. The plant’s two operating reactors shut down in April 2020 and April 2021.
Where is Indian Point?
Indian Point nuclear power plant is located on the east shore of the Hudson River in Buchanan, just south of Peekskill in Westchester County, New York — only about 30 miles north of New York City.
What were the environmental impacts of Indian Point?
The nuclear power plant had a major impact on water quality and wildlife. Its cooling system sucked in 2.4 billion gallons of water a day from the Hudson River, killing more than 1 billion fish every year. Since the 1990s, operational failures at Indian Point caused numerous leaks of toxic, radioactive water from spent fuel pools, contaminating nearby soil, groundwater, and the Hudson River.
Sheen at Indian Point
Is Indian Point going to start up again?
It would not be lawful for Holtec International, the company that bought Indian Point from Entergy in 2021, to construct new nuclear reactors at the site unless the local towns, village, and school district as well as Westchester County and New York State all agree to support or not oppose the plan.
Following a March 10, 2026 announcement from the U.S. Department of Energy and United States Congressional Representative Mike Lawler that Holtec International plans to restart Indian Point, Governor Hochul’s senior communications adviser stressed, “The governor has emphatically stated she will not support the reopening of Indian Point.”
Without the state’s support, the plan to restart the plant can’t move forward.
What’s more, Holtec has claimed that rebuilding Indian Point would cost $10 billion and take four years, with the Department of Energy recently saying it would cost more than that and take five years. These numbers are likely far lower than the actual cost. Restarting Indian Point is a far cry from any solution to the energy crisis.
Why are electricity prices rising in New York?
Indian Point is an easy scapegoat for rising energy costs, but the closure of the aging nuclear power plant is not a significant contributor to these increases — the state's failure to build out renewable energy and implement common sense energy conservation measures is.
Today, energy costs are rising nationwide for a number of reasons, including increased demand from data centers powering AI, instability in the fossil fuel marketplace, and the Trump Administration blocking planned clean energy projects.
Where does New York’s electricity come from?
Fracked gas (also known as natural gas) is the primary source of energy for roughly half the energy generated in New York.
Around 20 percent of the state’s electricity comes from hydroelectric dams, which, while generally seen as green, sustainable energy, in reality release large amounts of greenhouse gasses. Another roughly 20 percent comes from upstate nuclear power plants, and the remaining 10 percent from solar, wind, and biomass (burning organic materials like plants, wood, and waste).
What is the cheapest form of electricity?
Solar energy using batteries as storage is cheaper than fossil fuels. Solar is 41 percent cheaper than the lowest-cost fossil fuel alternatives, with the costs dropping around 90 percent over the last decade.
Wind energy is also generally cheaper than fossil fuels, with onshore wind projects costing in the range of $37 to $86 per unit of energy compared to $48 to $109 per unit of energy for new natural gas plants.
What is the status of the shutdown of Indian Point?
Decommissioning the Indian Point nuclear power plant includes dismantling and removing radioactive equipment and structures, remediating contaminated soil, and safely storing spent nuclear fuel onsite. The process of decommissioning will be complete when radioactivity is reduced to a level that it is safe to redevelop the site for other uses. It will cost approximately $2.3 billion.
Indian Point is now five years into being decommissioned, with the reactors already significantly taken apart. As of October 2023, all spent fuel at Indian Point nuclear power plant has been moved to a type of storage that greatly reduces the risk of a catastrophic nuclear accident.
When Holtec took control of Indian Point, the company pledged to finish decommissioning by 2036 at the latest.
What is Riverkeeper’s role in the decommissioning of Indian Point nuclear power plant?
Riverkeeper holds the “representative of the environmental community” seat on the Indian Point Decommissioning Oversight Board, which also includes representatives from state and local governments, and impacted labor unions. We provide expertise on issues related to water quality as well as impacts to wildlife and surrounding ecosystems, and elevate the concerns of impacted community members.
We continue to call for the secure storage of all radioactive wastewater on the Indian Point site for at least a period of 12 years. This would reduce the radioactivity of the waste from the spent fuel pools, and protect the economic interests of the state while alternative disposal methods are thoroughly evaluated.
Riverkeeper is committed to ensuring the full containment and cleanup of the contaminated groundwater under the site, and that Holtect manages the public funds from the decommissioning trust fund appropriately.
Building on our decades of advocacy, we are working to ensure the prompt, safe decommissioning of Indian Point with the best interests of the environment and the local communities that depend on it.
Related Campaigns
Beyond Indian Point
Monitoring the shutdown of a nuclear power plant on the banks of the Hudson that killed billions of fish each year
Saving Hudson River fish
Protecting iconic species vital to our local ecosystems
Emerging and unregulated contaminants
Toxic chemicals can harm the health of people, wildlife, aquatic ecosystems