Kadish: Why Long Island’s energy resistance is a national risk

In Brief:

• Cold Spring Harbor Lab’s dorm plan faces neighborhood opposition
• Propel NY Energy project met with pushback over unfounded fears
• U.S. energy infrastructure is aging and unprepared for tech demands
• China is outpacing the U.S. in fusion energy and grid modernization
• Public resistance and policy gridlock threaten national security
• Reliable electricity is key to AI, manufacturing and defense leadership

It was once supposed that when the day comes when cancer is finally cured, the announcement would come from the researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory who made the breakthrough here on Long Island.

But a proposal by the lab to build 30 dorms to house postdoctoral fellows is being opposed by a handful of neighbors, reminding us just how self-destructive Long Island can be. We could well be forcing the exodus of men and women whose future research might save the lives of loved ones from a disease that has touched every family.

Surprised?  You shouldn’t be.

We see similar opposition to essential Long Island projects designed to keep our lights on, our cars charged and our laptops powered. Now under review for construction is Propel NY Energy, a project that would add considerable electrical reliability to an underground grid that hasn’t been modernized on Long Island since the Reagan Administration.

Opponents have made claims that range from asserting its underground cables will cause dangerous magnetic waves to the idea that it will transmit Long Island power to upstate (because Niagara Falls isn’t generating enough electricity for Buffalo?).

Against this backdrop of opposing every smart advance is the looming presence of China and its multi-billion-dollar investment in power such as fusion energy, a clean, constant source that takes its physics from the sun. Taking hydrogen atoms that can be found in the very ocean off our shore, it is subjected to intense heat and pressure to create an enormous amount of unlimited energy.

The Chinese recognize that whoever conquers this resource will dominate this century for the nation that can power its massive AI computers as well as industrial, commercial, and military needs through fusion energy need not fear any other country.

Similarly, China has committed tens of billions of dollars to expand its ultra-high voltage (UHV) transmission network to power its growing tech economy. These projects aren’t just blueprints in a drawer; they are shovels in the ground, and they’re moving fast.

Meanwhile, here in the U.S., we’re in danger of being stuck. Public policy gridlock, permitting delays, and ill-founded opposition that can only be described as curious can stall key energy infrastructure projects. This has led to a national and local electrical grid that’s aging, overburdened and unable to meet our insatiable demands for power.

Every significant national priority—from rebuilding domestic manufacturing, to leading in AI, to securing our country’s defenses all require one thing—reliable electricity. And it’s not just about generating power through innovation such as fusion; it’s about having the infrastructure to deliver it where and when it’s needed. Without the necessary upgrades, we will never be able to realize a 21st century economy. We will be stuck with a grid designed for 1960s America.

Opposing energy research and infrastructure investment has become a national liability. This is bigger than one project or one region. Delaying that investment creates a national threat to our future if we allow countries like China to build faster and think bigger.

We need to stop our self-inflicted wounds such as denying housing to those Cold Spring Harbor Lab researchers, or the belief that buried electrical cables will damage our DNA. America has the talent, the spirit of innovation and the vision. We need to invest in fusion energy and a power grid that can support our 21st century energy demands, with the recognition that our national security now depend upon it. Until we do so, we are building our nation’s future on a foundation that can’t possibly support it.

Lawrence Kadish is founder and president of The Museum of American Armor in Old Bethpage.