BUCHANAN – The Indian Point nuclear
power plant contributes an estimated $1.6 billion annually to the New
York economy and $2.5 billion to the nation as a whole, according to a
Nuclear Energy Institute study released on Monday.
One of the largest taxpayers in Westchester County, the facility contributed
$30 million in state and local property taxes, with a total tax benefit
of $340 million to local, state and federal governments, the study found.
Indian Point’s nearly 1,000 employees benefit from an annual payroll
of some $140 million, which stimulates nearly 4,400 additional jobs in
other businesses in New York, according to the study.
“Indian Point greatly strengthens the local, regional and state
economies through job creation, tax payments, and direct and secondary
spending,” said Robert Myers, NEI’s vice president for policy
development and planning, who directed the study. “In many ways,
Indian Point and its 1,000 employees provide outputs that are crucial
for the well-being of the local communities and the state.”
The study also said Indian Point is a “critical part” of the
state’s clean energy mix generating about 25 percent of the electricity
used in New York City and Westchester annually, approximately 10 percent
of the state’s total electricity supply. Indian Point also produces
about 24 percent of the state’s carbon-free electricity, preventing
the emission of more than 8.5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually,
the equivalent of more than 1.6 million cars.
