Respondent: Rudolph W. Giuliani, Chairman & CEO, Giuliani Partners LLC, Former Mayor, City of New York
Introductory Remarks: Lawrence Mone, President, Manhattan Institute

The Indian Point Energy Center, located 40 miles north of Manhattan in Peekskill, NY, relies on nuclear energy to supply as much as 30 percent of the New York City area’s daily electricity needs. But continuing concerns about the safety of nuclear power, including concerns both about its vulnerability to earthquakes or terrorist attack, have led to renewed calls for Indian Point to be closed—calls joined by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Is it practical to close a facility that supplies such a larger share of metropolitan New York’s power? How might it be replaced and at what cost? What would be the economic and environmental implications of constructing replacement generating capacity, pipelines or power lines?

In his new report, economist Jonathan Lesser provides the first full analysis of such issues, highlighting the complexity of replacing Indian Point and quantifying the potential economic consequences—for commercial and residential power users, as well as for overall employment in the region.

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communications@manhatan-institute.org