The Trump administration is aggressively paving the way to open more nuclear power plants while pulling back on wind power as expensive hot air, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said Sunday.
“President Trump wants [nuclear plants] approved as quickly as possible … It just requires an agency like the EPA to get out of the way,” Zeldin said Sunday on WABC 770 the “Cats Roundtable” program.
He criticized his own agency for examples of “gumming up the works” in ways that unnecessarily slowed energy projects including nuclear power.
Zeldin said he wants to see Congress approve a law making it easier to license zero emissions nuke power plants, regardless of which political party is in charge of the White House in the future.
“That it’s going to require less time, have less cost, and have more certainty. Nuclear is certainly a key part of the future … President Trump is all in. His team is all in. The National Energy Dominance Council is all in,” he said.
Meanwhile, New York is planning to build the nation’s first new major nuclear power plant in more than 15 years, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said recently.
By comparison, he said the government has been propping up wind power projects with costly taxpayer subsidies.
“Without the government propping up wind, that it becomes even less feasible, it becomes even less economical,” Zeldin said.
“If you’re not sure which way to go… you look at the map and you look at the economics, well, that should convince you against wind.”
Zeldin recently visited Alaska and was also bullish that new natural gas power plants will open or expand.
The former Long Island Republican congressman ran for governor in 2022, losing narrowly to Gov. Kathy Hochul.
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