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In pursuit of new energy sources, Poland plans to build as many as six nuclear reactors by 2040 that will be able to produce up to 6GW of electric energy by 2045, government commissioner for strategic energy infrastructure Piotr Naimski said on Tuesday.
The ambition is to have some 20 percent of Poland’s energy produced by nuclear facilities by 2045.
The commissioner said that the first Polish nuclear plant should be ready in 2033, "most likely on the Polish Baltic Sea coast,” adding that “if we want to stick to coal we must have non-emission sources, [including] power plants which do not generate carbon dioxide" such as nuclear power plants.
Speaking on who would deliver the nuclear technology, Mr Naimski said Poland wants to have a long-term investor but added that no decisions had been made regarding this issue.
"We are not looking for funds, we are not looking for financial markets, we are looking for a partner who, together with us, would invest and jointly implement this project," said the government official.
Poland and the US signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of civilian use of nuclear energy. The document was signed in Washington on June 12 by US Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Piotr Naimski. The Polish embassy in the US described the document as "a concrete step introducing a strategic dialogue in the field of energy between Poland and the USA."
Polish Energy Minister Krzysztof Tchorzewski had earlier told parliament that, "there is good will in the United States to cooperate with Poland in the field of the nuclear programme," adding that Poland sought partners as well as technology.
The Energy Minister announced that Poland plans to build between six and nine nuclear plants over the next 20 years, and is open to cooperation with various partners. "These talks concern a wider group but the greatest interest in the matter is from the United States," the Minister said.