new york millionaire John Catsimatidis He said his company, Red Apple Group, is making “green” energy affordable by developing a new type of small nuclear reactor, and the company is hiring an experienced energy executive to lead the effort. He said he was hired.
The $7 billion conglomerate that owns Gristedes and D’Agostino’s grocery chain, WABC 770, and fossil fuel and real estate businesses, which also owns United Nuclear Group, announced on Wednesday that it would deploy small modular nuclear reactors across the United States. He announced that he is considering expanding it. onwards.
To oversee this development, the company announced the appointment of Bob Percopo, a former longtime executive in American International Group’s global ocean and energy division, as its new chief operating officer.
“Bob Percopo has deep experience as an executive in infrastructure, energy, power and project finance projects in North America and around the world,” Catsimatidis said in a press release obtained by the Post.
“He is an expert in the nuclear industry and will be an effective leader in our nuclear energy business,” added Catsimatidis.
According to the Department of Energy, nuclear reactors are a “safe, clean and affordable option for nuclear power generation” and are often used to provide energy to isolated areas or places where space is limited that cannot support large power generating units. will be used.
United Nuclear Group will emit a maximum output of 300 megawatts at a standard frequency of 60 hertz, enough to power the average American home for about 1.2 months.
Representatives for UNG and Red Apple did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
The announcement is part of Red Apple’s push to further expand into nuclear energy.
“The future of energy in this country is not about windmills and solar cells,” the wood-fired billionaire told the Post earlier this year. Catsimatidis said he is now focused on “the next generation of energy,” which he said “will be small modular nuclear reactors to power submarines and aircraft carriers.”
Catsimatidis also noted at the time that Red Apple had “signed up” to two states that needed nuclear reactors. He said the potential deal could cost between $10 billion and $20 billion, and the family would need to bring in investors to do so.
Earlier this year, Mr. Catsimatidis promoted his 30-year-old son to Red Apple’s president and chief operating officer.
John Catsimatidis Jr., the Manhattan-based firm’s former chief investment officer, was promoted after working in the family business for the past 12 years.
But his outspoken father remains CEO and chairman of Red Apple, where Catsimatidis launched the first Red Apple supermarket on the Upper West Side 56 years ago.
Mr. Catsimatidis purchased 77 WABC radios in 2019 in a $12.5 million cash transaction.
Last year, the 75-year-old, who has a net worth of $4.1 billion, considered buying struggling CNN from parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, but remained tight-lipped about the price. Communication network.
